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Turnout ahead of this week’s election was on track to break records for a midterm in Oregon.
As of 6:43 am on Election Day, the Oregon Secretary of State’s Office reported ballots had been received from 1,505,694 Oregonians or 48.3% of registered voters. That’s higher than the Oregon voter turnout rate in the prior midterm with one day remaining (45.2%). That race had a final rate of 62.3% in Oregon—a record slightly higher than turnout for the 2018 midterm.
With one day remaining in this election, Multnomah County trailed the state average with a turnout rate of 43.3% while highly rural Gilliam, Grant and Wallowa counties led the way with pre-Election Day turnout rates north of 60%.
This election season has been characterized by President Donald Trump’s efforts to assert more federal control over elections and undermine mail-in voting, a system Oregon has used exclusively in national elections since 2001. Trump has dispatched Department of Justice election monitors to counties in all 50 states, including Multnomah, and made nontraditional demands of state officials, which have elicited sharp rebukes from Oregon’s top elections official, Secretary of State Tobias Read.
With its mail-in voting system and “motor voter” program—meant to increase turnout—Oregon has enjoyed historically high voter participation, along with heavy hitters Maine, Minnesota, Colorado and Wisconsin.
With all scenarios on the table, early turnout figures in Oregon point to Dem enthusiasm and muted GOP participation. Statewide, 41% of pre-Election Day turnout are Democrats while 31% are Republicans, 22% are nonaffiliated, and 5% are independent. In Multnomah County, 62% are Democrats while 21% are nonaffiliated, 11% are Republican, and 3% are independent.
Read full coverage of results and reactions starting at 8 pm on wweek.com.
