Oregon’s 2024 primary election: Where to vote, find results and more

Drop your ballot in an official box like this one before 8 p.m. (Lynne Terry/Oregon Capital Chronicle)

Oregon voters have just a few hours left to make their voices heard in Tuesday’s primary election.

All registered voters should have received a ballot by mail earlier this month with local and judicial races. Registered Democrats and Republicans also had partisan races for president, members of Congress and state lawmakers on their ballots.

To be counted, a ballot needs to be returned to a ballot drop box or county elections office by 8 p.m., or mailed and postmarked on Tuesday. Oregonians can find their closest drop box through an interactive search on the Secretary of State’s website or a printed list of all drop sites. 

Voters can also find the state-issued voters’ pamphlet online and review coverage from the Capital Chronicle and other outlets as they make their decisions. 

Presidential primaries were largely settled before Oregon’s primaries: Both Democratic President Joe Biden and former Republican President Donald Trump have enough delegates to secure their parties’ nominations in conventions scheduled for later this summer. Trump will be the only presidential candidate on Republican ballots, while Democrats will choose between Biden and self-help guru Marianne Williamson.

U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley aren’t up for election this year, but all six members of Oregon’s congressional delegation are. Democratic primaries in Oregon’s 3rd and 5th congressional districts have drawn the most attention: The winner of the Portland-based 3rd District primary is all but certain to replace retiring Rep. Earl Blumenauer, while the winner of the 5th District will face first-term Republican Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer in a general election race that could determine control of the U.S. House.

All 60 state House seats and 15 of the 30 state Senate seats are also up for election. Republican primaries to replace rural senators who retired or were barred from running for reelection because they participated in the longest quorum-denying walkout in state history have drawn a lot of interest, as have a couple primaries for open Democratic seats in the Portland area.

The Secretary of State’s office will post initial results online shortly after 8 p.m. Tuesday. Oregonians may not know the results of all races at 8 p.m., or even by Wednesday morning. Most counties plan to update results at least twice on Tuesday night, and county election workers will continue verifying signatures on ballot envelopes and processing ballots through the coming days. Ballots that arrive by May 28 can still be counted as long as they have a postmark from May 21 or earlier. 

Election results won’t be official until the election is certified in June, but media outlets will call races earlier based on their own analysis. The Capital Chronicle will follow the Associated Press’s calls and report on which candidates are leading on Tuesday night without calling races prematurely. 

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