OPINION READER’S FORUM
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2020
A4
EDITOR’S DESK
Your guide to making sure your vote counts
lection Day isn’t until Nov.
3, but another deadline looms
nearer: The deadline to regis-
ter to vote in Oregon is Oct. 13.
Each year around
election time I see a lot
of confusion and misin-
formation around voting,
some of which can pre-
vent people from exer-
cising their right to help Jade
choose the people who
McDowell
NEWS EDITOR
represent them in gov-
ernment. I hope that the
following advice can help make sure
that your voice is heard.
Whether you vote in every elec-
tion, you’ve never voted or you’re
not entirely sure if you ever regis-
tered in Oregon, visit the Oregon
Secretary of State’s website at www.
oregonvotes.gov today to make sure
you’re ready for Nov. 3. To check on
your registration status as an Oregon
voter, click on the “My Vote” button
and enter your name and birth date.
If there is no record listed but you
thought you were registered to vote,
contact your county elections offi ce
to help determine what the problem
may be. Umatilla County’s elections
offi ce can be reached at 541-278-
6254 and Morrow County’s number
is 541-676-5604. They can also assist
you if you don’t have internet access.
If you already know you’ve never
registered to vote before, you can do
so online by clicking the “Register to
Vote” button at oregonvotes.gov and
providing the necessary information,
including your driver’s license num-
ber or Social Security number. You
E
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan, File
/East Oregonian
Bundles of ballots sit in trays waiting to be opened prior to the November 2019 election at the
can also print out a physical copy of
a voter registration card and mail it to
your county elections offi ce, or visit
the offi ce to fi ll one out in person.
If you check your voter registra-
tion and you are marked as “inac-
tive,” that means you will not receive
a ballot unless you submit a new
voter registration card. Your registra-
tion may be marked as inactive if a
ballot mailed to you was returned as
undeliverable, you were incarcerated
for a felony, you haven’t voted in at
least fi ve years or your last ballot was
challenged.
If you check your voter registra-
tion and it shows you are an active
voter, double-check to make sure all
of the information, including your
address and political party affi liation,
is correct. If anything needs updated,
you can click on the “Update my reg-
istration” button at the bottom of the
screen.
It’s important to note here that if
you update your registration during
the two week period between when
an election takes place and when
the results are offi cially certifi ed,
the change will not take effect until
after the election is certifi ed. This
caused a lot of conspiracy theories
in May 2020 when people attempted
to change their party affi liation a few
days after the primary election and
were certain elections offi cials were
plotting to prevent people from regis-
tering as Republicans.
After the deadline to register
to vote has passed, ballots will be
COLUMN
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Stop denying the impact of fuel in big fi res
here are no adjectives
that adequately describe
the devastation that wild-
fi res have brought to the West in
the last month.
At least 33 people are known
to have died in the fi res, and
the damage to lives, liveli-
hoods and property cannot be
calculated.
Western governors — Kate
Brown, Jay Inslee and Gavin
Newsom — were quick to
place the blame on climate
change. Citing climate change
tells not even half the story.
Dry conditions certainly
are a contributing factor in the
spread of the fi res. The real cul-
prit is the decades-long increase
in the understory fuel load that
feeds these massive fi res. And
this fuel load has been allowed
to build because of a combina-
tion of public policy and envi-
ronmental lawsuits that have
severely reduced logging on
public lands and efforts such as
prescribed burns and selective
thinning to treat the problem.
Fire is a natural part of for-
T
est ecology. Low-intensity fi res
periodically cleared out the
grasses, brush and small trees
that fl ourish in the understory.
The government aggressively
fi ghts wildfi res on public lands,
which is completely warranted
when those fi res threaten peo-
ple and private property.
Without fi re, the forests have
become more densely packed
with vegetation.
Thinning and prescribed
burning of dense stands within
national forests is the federal
government’s main preventive
approach to the problem, but
even the largest of these proj-
ects that span 10,000 acres or
more are modest compared to
the 160 million acres the U.S.
Forest Service manages in the
West.
And in many cases it takes
years to get these projects
through regulatory and court
challenges that attend any
actions on public lands.
So, when the forest catches
fi re the dense understory causes
it to burst into the canopy. Add
the 60 mph winds that drove
the fi res in the Northwest 10
days ago, and you have a con-
fl agration of epic proportions.
Yes, dry conditions have
played a part in this drama.
Putting the blame on climate
change is convenient for pro-
gressive politicians who have a
policy agenda. But implement-
ing all of the climate legislation
dreamed up by environmental-
ists would not impact the exist-
ing climate for decades, if at
all.
Remember, though, that fi re
has been a part of the forest for
millennia. Even if the climate
could by returned to some ideal
“norm,” today’s forests would
still burn, and burn intensely.
We know how to prevent
big fi res today, and that’s by
removing the fuel — whether
by letting more fi res burn, cut-
ting more timber, prescribed
burns, selective thinning or a
combination thereof.
This viewpoint was written as
an editorial by EO Media Group
newspapers.
CORRECTIONS
Printed on
recycled
newsprint
VOLUME 114 • NUMBER 38
Andrew Cutler | Publisher • acutler@eomediagroup.com • 541-278-2673
Jade McDowell | News Editor • jmcdowell@eastoregonian.com • 541-564-4536
Jeanne Jewett | Multi-Media consultant • jjewett@hermistonherald.com • 541-564-4531
Audra Workman | Multi-Media consultant • aworkman@eastoregonian.com • 541-564-4538
To contact the Hermiston Herald for news,
advertising or subscription information:
• call 541-567-6457
• e-mail info@hermistonherald.com
• stop by our offi ces at 333 E. Main St.
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The Hermiston Herald (USPS 242220, ISSN
8750-4782) is published weekly at Hermiston
Herald, 333 E. Main St., Hermiston, OR 97838,
(541) 567-6457.
mailed starting Oct. 14. If you are
correctly registered to vote but still
have not seen a ballot in your mail-
box as Nov. 3 approaches, never
fear. You can call your county elec-
tions offi ce and ask for a new one to
be sent, or, if you are worried you
will not be able to receive a new one
in time, you can visit the elections
offi ce and fi ll one out in person up
until 8 p.m. on election night.
If you receive your ballot in the
mail, you can fi ll it out, sign it and
send it back through the mail (no
postage stamp required), where it
will be counted by the county elec-
tions offi ce as long as they receive it
by 8 p.m. on Nov. 3. If you are con-
cerned about your ballot making it
there on time, you can also drop it at
a secure ballot drop box until 8 p.m.
on Nov. 3. Hermiston’s drop box is
located in the drive-thru at city hall,
and a full list of locations can be
found at oregonvotes.gov.
If your signature on your ballot
doesn’t match the one on fi le with the
elections offi ce, or something else
looks fi shy, you may receive noti-
fi cation that your ballot was chal-
lenged. If that happens, you will have
14 days to provide evidence to the
county clerk that it was you who cast
that vote. And remember: Attempting
to vote in two different states, sub-
mit two ballots in Oregon, lie on your
registration or other forms of voter
fraud are felonies that the system is
well-designed to catch. I wouldn’t try
it.
Good luck!
Periodical postage paid at Hermiston, OR.
Postmaster, send address changes to
Hermiston Herald, 333 E. Main St.,
Hermiston, OR 97838.
Member of EO Media Group Copyright ©2020
It is the policy of the Hermiston Herald to correct errors as
soon as they are discovered. Incorrect information will be
corrected on Page 2A. Errors commited on the Opinion page
will be corrected on that page. Corrections also are noted in
the online versions of our stories.
Please contact the editor at editor@hermistonherald.com or
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SUBMIT A LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Letters Policy: Letters to the Editor is a forum for the
Hermiston Herald readers to express themselves on local,
state, national or world issues. Brevity is good, but longer
letters should be kept to 250 words.
No personal attacks; challenge the opinion, not the person.
The Hermiston Herald reserves the right to edit letters for
length and for content.
Jim Doherty has the character for commissioner
I confi dently endorse Jim Doherty for reelection as Mor-
row County Commissioner. During his fi rst term serving
Morrow County, Commissioner Doherty has proven his
leadership ability not only for Morrow County, but as serv-
ing as President of Association of Oregon Counties. The
last time a fi rst term commissioner served in that role was
1905. The ability to lead his peers shows Commissioner
Doherty’s assets in areas critical to that role — organiza-
tion, mediator, and strength of character.
Commissioner Doherty serves Morrow County from the
viewpoint of caretaker. He was born and raised in the South
end of the county. Jim and Kelly have raised their fam-
ily and built a life in the North end. If something impacts
Morrow County, it impacts Commissioner Doherty.
Commissioner Doherty has demonstrated his deep love
and concern for our citizens by seeking out those among us
who need help. He has assisted the Boardman Food Pantry
in the beginning stages of its establishment by advocating
and seeking funds for a permanent location. In May, when
the windstorm ripped through Boardman, Commissioner
Doherty stepped up to the plate when residents needed help
not only getting out from under the chaos that ensued, but
also a voice.
My family and I have lived down the road from the
Doherty family for about 10 years. We have done busi-
ness with them and admire the ethics that Jim Doherty has
exhibited. As neighbors, we have called on them when we
needed help. Jim has always shown up when we needed
him. Through our experiences with Jim Doherty over
the years, we have seen compassion, responsibility, and a
strong belief that each of us needs to do our part to make
Morrow County the best it can be. Jim Doherty has the
vision and integrity to carry Morrow County through the
growth and changes while preserving the honor of our
county. His commitment to our way of life and the insight
he brings to the development of our county is worthy of our
vote in November.
Mary A. Killion
Boardman
Letters must be original and signed by the writer or writers.
Anonymous letters will not be printed. Writers should include
a telephone number so they can be reached for questions.
Only the letter writer’s name and city of residence will be
published.
OBITUARY POLICY
The Hermiston Herald publishes paid obituaries. The
obituary can include small photos and, for veterans, a
fl ag symbol at no charge. Expanded death notices will be
published at no charge. These include information about
services. Obituaries may be edited for spelling, proper
punctuation and style.
Obituaries and notices may be submitted online at
hermistonherald.com/obituaryform, by email to obits@
hermistonherald.com, by fax to 541-276-8314, placed via the
funeral home or in person at the Hermiston Herald or East
Oregonian offi ces. For more information, call 541-966-0818 or
1-800-522-0255, x221.