Worried you won’t get mail-in ballot due to wildfires? Here’s what to do in Oregon

Wildfires raging through Oregon have burned nearly a million acres and destroyed nearly 1,300 homes, the Statesman Journal reported.

With the 2020 General Election just around the corner, displaced residents might be wondering how they can make sure voting by mail is still an option.

The secretary of state’s office will start sending vote-by-mail ballots on Oct. 14, the agency’s website says. Voters who are displaced due to wildfires “can add a temporary mailing address at oregonvotes.gov/myvote,” according to the website.

Residents who are already registered to vote don’t need to re-register if they’ve temporarily relocated, the secretary of state’s office says. Voters just need to tell election officials that their ballot must be sent to the temporary mailing address.

Submitting an address change through the United States Postal Service will not be sufficient because ballots are not “forwardable,” according to the website.

In order to notify elections officials about a change in address, voters can update their registration with the temporary address online, or print an Absentee Ballot Request form and turn it in to the county elections office near your permanent address. Residents can also pick up ballots at “the post office that serves your permanent residence address,” the website says.

Elections officials may offer additional options for voters to get their ballots after Oct. 1.

Displaced voters’ ballots will still include local measures for their permanent address, not the temporary address. If a voter’s mailbox was destroyed, they can pick up their ballot materials at the local post office.