Rep. Helfrich: Ballots are being improperly held

House Republican Leader Helfrich Issues Statement on Disruptions in Ballot Returns to County Elections Offices
By Oregon House Republican Leader Office

SALEM, Ore. – House Republican Leader Jeff Helfrich (R-Hood River) released the following statement regarding ballots that are being held by the United States Postal Service (USPS) instead of being returned to county elections offices. The issue has affected numerous counties in Oregon, though, the full extent is still being determined.

The USPS told county elections officials Wednesday that the ballots were being held because the USPS wanted a firm count on how much to bill for each ballot since Oregon Democrats voted to use business mail to pay for returning ballots. Confusion over another Democrat-passed law – one to extend routine ballot acceptance beyond Election Day – is also contributing to the situation, according to internal election sources. As a result, potentially thousands of ballots have been held from election offices. County elections officials are seeking answers, and a call between them and the Secretary of State’s Office has been set for Thursday morning regarding this problem.

“Voters deserve to have the utmost confidence in our elections, yet situations like this show how vulnerable our system is. Disruptions in the chain of custody – especially at this magnitude – are outrageous and unacceptable. This is the direct result of Democrat leaders meddling with election laws and failing to properly oversee ballot returns. Oregonians are entitled to immediate answers from their government about how this could happen and what is being done to protect the integrity of the election,” said Helfrich.