County clerk outlines voter-registration changes, postal guidance and records projects
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Summary
Yamhill County Clerk Carrie Hinton briefed the board on HB 4133 online registration changes, advised voters on USPS postmarks and hand-cancelling ballots, reported over 800 users for the property-recording alert system and described a digitization/archiving project; she warned of 6–8% vendor cost increases and noted recording revenue remains limited.
County Clerk Carrie Hinton provided multiple department updates including implementation of House Bill 4133, new USPS postmark guidance, and records‑management projects.
On HB 4133, Hinton explained the law requires the online voter-registration system to accept a valid Social Security number or driver’s-license number and permits signature uploads; the Secretary of State was given until Jan. 1, 2026 to implement those changes. "The purpose of the bill was access," Hinton said, adding the same verification checks (Social Security database and DMV) apply to online registrations as to paper forms.
Hinton cautioned voters to plan ahead for mail‑in ballots after recent U.S. Postal Service clarification on postmarks: "If you know you are someone who likes to vote on the last day, don't mail it. Bring it in," she said, and recommended hand‑cancelling at the post office or using ballot drop boxes. The clerk said the county reports postmark data to the state and can provide counts on late postmarks.
On records, Hinton said the county’s property‑recording alert service now has over 800 registered users and that an archiving/digitization initiative, supported by a state archives site visit and a records‑management vendor, is underway to preserve and provide public access to older materials. She warned staff are budgeting for a 6–8% increase in software and vendor costs and reiterated that recording revenue remains low; the county receives about $5 per recorded page while the cost to record a one‑page document can be roughly $87.
The board thanked the clerk for the updates and noted construction for a new clerk's office is underway, with a construction contract expected to come before the board next week.