QuickTake:

The Nov. 3 election ballot is crowded, with federal, state and local contests to be decided. But you can't vote if you're not registered.

Later this week, Lane County Clerk Tommy Gong and his election staff will mail about 279,000 ballots to the county’s registered voters.

The important word in the previous paragraph is “registered.” If you want to vote in the Nov. 3 election, you must be among the county’s registered voters.

Fortunately, registering to vote is easy — and you still have time to do so. The deadline is 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 13. You can register online at the Oregon Secretary of State’s website. 

To register to vote in Oregon, you must be a U.S. citizen, an Oregon resident and at least 16 years old. (If you are not yet 18, you won’t receive a ballot until an election occurs on or after your 18th birthday.)

To register online, you’ll need an Oregon driver’s license, permit or ID card number issued by the Oregon Driver and Motor Vehicle Services Division (DMV). If you don’t have an Oregon driver’s license, permit or ID card, you’ll need to provide the last four digits of your Social Security number and a signature.

“I encourage citizens of Lane County who want to vote in this November’s election to ensure they are registered to vote by the deadline,” Gong said in an email. “The first step in voting is to be registered to vote.”

The Nov. 3 ballot is crowded, with races for Oregon governor, U.S. senator, the 4th Congressional District and the Lane County Board of Commissioners. Voters throughout the county also will weigh in on 10 races for the state Legislature, eight of them contested.

Locally, Eugene voters will elect a city councilor and will decide on a ballot measure requiring large retailers to pay a 2% license fee on gross profits to finance a clean energy fund. Springfield voters also will elect a city councilor. 

Voters in Coburg, Cottage Grove, Creswell, Dunes City, Florence, Junction City, Lowell, Oakridge, Veneta and Westfir will elect local officials. Dunes City voters will decide on a measure to prohibit short-term rentals. Voters in Oakridge will decide whether to replace an ambulance fee currently assessed on utility fees with a local-option tax. And residents in the Western Lane Ambulance District will vote on a request to renew a levy that pays for emergency medical services. 

The ballot also includes elections for Springfield Utility Board directors, in addition to directors for other utility districts and soil and water conservation districts.

Turnout in Lane County in the November 2022 election — the last election featuring a contested gubernatorial race — was 45.9%. 

Drop-off boxes for ballots throughout Lane County open Wednesday, Oct. 14. 

Mike McInally is a Pacific Northwest journalist with four decades of experience in Oregon and Montana, including stints as editor of the Corvallis Gazette-Times and the Albany Democrat-Herald.