According to the Lane County Clerk’s Office, roughly 80.3% of the ballots that have been returned so far had been returned at a drop box, as of Monday.
The remainder were sent in the mail, or voters walked into the elections office to hand in their ballots. That’s a slightly bigger share using drop boxes than past elections.
In the 2024 election, roughly 76% of Lane County voters used drop boxes. In odd years, drop box usage is lower, with 67% of voters using them in the 2025 general election.
More dropboxes are available this year due to emergency funding from the state allowing counties to install them in the month leading up to the election. Lane elections officials estimated last month that most Lane County voters are now within 15 minutes of a drop box.
Prominent elected officials have also urged voters to use drop boxes over concerns about delays at the U.S. Postal Service.
Overall, roughly 40% of Lane County voters have returned their ballots as of Monday, slightly behind statewide returns of about 41.5%, according to the Oregon Secretary of State’s office.
That’s not out of line with historic voting patterns – often the bulk of ballots arrive around Election Day. In the 2024 presidential election, Lane County’s turnout was about 77%.
It was about 69% in 2022, the last midterm.
Returns in the counties surrounding Lane are closer to the state average, except Benton County where more than 49% of voters have returned their ballots.
Deschutes County in Central Oregon also had higher returns with a little more than 48% of registered voters returning their ballots.
Ballots can be dropped off at drop boxes until 8 p.m. Tuesday.
A full list is available on the Oregon Secretary of State’s website.
