Election Day in Salem: Fewer than half of Marion County ballots are in, and drop boxes close at 8 p.m. (Nov. 3)
Quick Read
Ballots must be in an official drop box or a county elections office by 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3. Mailing this late is not recommended; the state says to have a postal clerk hand-postmark it if you do.
As of 6:43 a.m. Tuesday, Marion County had received 106,397 ballots, or 45.5% of active voters, and Polk County 31,631, or 48.7%, according to unofficial Secretary of State data.
Marion County has two drive-through or walk-up sites open only today from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., plus a Voter Assistance Center in Salem for anyone who still needs a ballot.
Unofficial statewide results start posting at results.oregonvotes.gov shortly after 8 p.m., and counts will keep changing for days.
SALEM, Ore. - It's Election Day, and more than half of Marion County voters had not yet turned in a ballot as of Tuesday morning.
The county had received 106,397 of 234,065 ballots sent to active voters, or 45.5%, according to the Oregon Secretary of State's unofficial ballot return report generated at 6:43 a.m. Nov. 3. That leaves about 127,700 Marion County ballots still out. Polk County stood at 48.7%, with 31,631 of 64,956 returned. Statewide, 48.3% of Oregon's 3.1 million active voters had returned ballots.
That is up from about 35.8% in Marion County last Thursday, when Willamette News reported on two new 24-hour drop boxes in Salem. The state report's Nov. 2 tally for Marion County, 22,599 ballots, is the largest single entry so far this election. Salem Reporter reported Monday that fewer than half of registered voters in the Salem area had submitted ballots on the eve of Election Day.
The deadline: 8 p.m. tonight
Ballots must be in an official drop box or at a county elections office by 8 p.m. Tuesday, the Secretary of State's office says. County elections offices are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. today. No postage is needed at an official drop box, according to the Marion County voters' pamphlet.
Mailing now is risky. A mailed ballot counts only if it is postmarked by Election Day and reaches the county elections office within seven days, by Nov. 10. The state recommends asking a postal clerk to hand-stamp the envelope at the counter if you mail it this late. Before you drop it off, sign the return envelope. Counties compare every signature with the voter's registration record.
Where to drop your ballot in Salem and Keizer
These Marion County sites come from the state's official 2026 general election drop site list and the Marion County Clerk's elections page:
Marion County Elections drive-through, 500 Court St. NE, on the north side of the courthouse: today only, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Walmart parking lot, 5250 Commercial St. SE: outdoor tented walk-up site, today only, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Marion County Clerk's office, 555 Court St. NE, Suite 2130: inside, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. today.
Marion County Courthouse, outside 24-hour box (the county lists it at 100 High St. NE).
Marion County Fire District No. 1, Cordon Road NE in east Salem: outside 24-hour box. The state list gives the address as 300 Cordon Road NE; the county's notice says 330.
Marion County Health, 3180 Center St. NE: curbside, 24 hours.
Marion County Public Works, 5155 Silverton Road NE: curbside, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. today.
Roth's Fresh Market stores at Hayesville (4746 Portland Road NE), Sunnyslope (4555 Liberty Road S) and Vista (3045 Commercial St. SE): inside, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. today.
Keizer City Hall, 930 Chemawa Road NE: curbside, 24 hours.
Marion County also has 24-hour boxes in Aumsville, Donald, Gervais, Hubbard, Jefferson, Mt. Angel, Silverton, Stayton, Sublimity, Turner and Woodburn, plus an indoor box at Mill City City Hall open until 8 p.m. today, according to the state list.
In Polk County, West Salem voters can use the 24-hour box at Roth's Fresh Market, 1130 Wallace Road NW. Polk's other 24-hour sites are at the Polk County Courthouse, 850 Main St. in Dallas; Independence City Hall, 555 S. Main St.; Monmouth City Hall, 151 Main St. W.; the Falls City Community Center, 320 N. Main St.; and the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, 9615 Grand Ronde Road, according to Polk County. The state's drop box list covers every county in Oregon.
Lost your ballot or need help?
Marion County is running a Voter Assistance Center in the Senator Hearing Room on the first floor of the Courthouse Square building, 555 Court St. NE, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. today, according to the county's election page. Voters there can get a ballot, vote in a booth and return it. Marion County elections can be reached at 503-588-5041. Polk County voters can go to the clerk's office on the second floor of the courthouse in Dallas or call 503-623-9217.
You can check whether your ballot has been received through My Vote on the Secretary of State's site or the county's BallotTrax ballot-tracking service.
What's on the ballot
Every Oregon ballot has the races for governor and U.S. Senate, and there are no statewide measures this year, the Secretary of State's office says. Salem-area voters also choose members of Congress, state legislators and county and city officials.
There are no Salem, Keizer or Salem-Keizer School District measures on the ballot. Elsewhere in the two counties, voters are deciding an $87.04 million Silver Falls School District bond (Measure 24-528), a Stayton Fire District levy (24-531), a proposed merger of the Mt. Angel and Monitor fire districts, a Gates fire levy renewal, charter changes in Aurora and Silverton, a Polk County fairgrounds tax (27-149), a Monmouth urban growth boundary swap (27-150) and an Independence parks and services fee (27-151). Our Salem-area voter guide explains each race and measure, based on the county voters' pamphlets.
When results post
Unofficial results will appear at results.oregonvotes.gov shortly after 8 p.m. and will be updated at regular intervals, the Secretary of State's office says. Polk County says it will post its first results on its election page at 8 p.m. Marion County posts results on its election results page.
Expect the numbers to move for days. Ballots dropped off tonight still have to be signature-checked and counted, and mailed ballots postmarked by today can arrive through Nov. 10. Voters whose signatures are challenged have until Nov. 24 to fix them. Both counties list Nov. 30 as the deadline to certify, and the state will certify final results Dec. 10.
Sources
Oregon Secretary of State: 2026 General Election Unofficial Ballot Returns (report generated Nov. 3, 2026, 6:43 a.m.)
Oregon Secretary of State: General Election, Nov. 3, 2026 (current election page)
Oregon Secretary of State: Official Oregon 2026 General Election Ballot Drop Sites
Marion County Clerk: Elections page and drop box notice
Marion County Clerk: November 3, 2026 Gubernatorial General Election (dates and Voter Assistance Center)
Marion County: November 3, 2026 General Election Voters' Pamphlet
Polk County: November 3, 2026 General Election
Polk County: Drop Sites for Ballots
Salem Reporter: Fewer than half of ballots have been returned in Marion, Polk counties the eve of Election Day (Nov. 2, 2026)
Cover photo: Lane County Elections Official Ballot Drop Box, by Rick Obst, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)
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