MEDFORD, Ore. – The Southern Oregon American Postal Worker Union is holding a rally Saturday for machinery to be reinstalled to achieve what they say would be a more reliable election process.
Mailing services in Oregon were consolidated to Portland this year, resulting in the dismantling of automatic postmarking machines in Southern Oregon. Now, mail can’t be postmarked until it reaches Portland or is stamped manually.
A United States Postal Service representative says mail takes less than two days to travel within the state.
According Jackson County Election Official, Chris Walker, mail-in ballots must be postmarked by election day or they will be considered invalid. Additionally, if the ballot is not received back at the local election office within seven days of an election, it will also be considered invalid
The union voiced concern that ballots delivered around election day could face validity complications in transit, and that these concerns were confirmed during May’s primary election.
Union President, Jeremy Schilling said, “you could still do everything in your power– bring it to the post office, have me stamp it at the front desk, and I‘ll put it in the outgoing mail. But it’s going to go to Portland. And when we tracked this data in the primary election, there were ballots that didn’t return until a week or so later.”
The postal worker union is rallying to bring light to how the lack of automated postmarking and extended transit time could impact November’s general election.
The Southern Oregon American Postal Workers Union will rally at 10 a.m. Saturday morning in downtown Medford at Vogel Plaza.
Correction- A previous version of this story said it takes two days within the county and also two days in the state for mail to be transported. It is less than two days throughout the state.
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