As ballots go out for the Nov. 3 election, Jackson County election workers are preparing different ballots based on where voters live and getting ready to check signatures when completed ballots come back.
Jackson County Clerk Chris Walker said the process includes matching voters with the correct ballot, supervising ballot packaging and training signature verification teams each election cycle.
A voter’s address determines which local races and measures appear alongside statewide and federal contests.
“A ballot style is based on where you reside within the county, within the city, and within all those districts that fall within those boundaries of your address,” Walker said.
Walker said she personally supervises ballot packaging before locked shipments go to a U.S. Postal Service facility.
When completed ballots come back, signature verification teams trained each election cycle check the return envelopes.
“We check every single signature on every ballot that comes to us,” Walker said.
Voters can return completed ballots by mail or deliver them to an official drop box or the Jackson County Elections Office at 1101 W. Main St. in Medford.
Ballots delivered to a drop box or the elections office must arrive by 8 p.m. on Election Day. The county lists official drop-off locations online.
While elections draw much of the public’s attention, the clerk’s office also records property deeds, issues marriage licenses and administers the Property Value Appeals Board.
For Walker, the work continues a family tradition of public service in Jackson County.
“Serving the resident citizens of Jackson County has been a long-term process for my family and one that I’m very proud of,” Walker said.
Guest
- Chris Walker, county clerk, Jackson County, Oregon
