Oregon Public Broadcasting

Multnomah County is responding to complaints that as many as 1600 Portland-area voters didn’t get ballots sent to their post office boxes.

Some of them received ballots at a street address. Some didn’t get ballots at all.

County election officials say it’s a computer problem that they’ve since fixed.

Multnomah County election spokesman, Eric Sample, says people with post office boxes have now been sent ballots, and should receive them with plenty of time to vote-by-mail, this week.

Sample says some of those voters will have options.

Eric Sample: “A person could have already sent their ballot back in, that will count. They can send that new ballot that they’ve received - if they haven’t already received the other ballot. Or, if they did receive it, they can use either one, but only one ballot will be counted.” 

Sample says when problems occur, there’s always the possibility that people will attempt to vote more than once. But he says the system is set up to let people vote once - and then discard subsequent ballots.

Sample says election officials sense heightened anxiety surrounding this year’s election among voters, especially those with ballot problems.