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On the afternoon of Election Day, May 20, Multnomah County reported voter turnout in the special election at 16.09% for accepted ballots. That’s 92,288 ballots returned of the 573,699 mailed to registered voters in Multnomah County.
Tim Scott, director of Multnomah County elections, says average turnout in special elections is anywhere from 15% to 40%, but turnout has been lower during this special election.
“Based on our turnout so far, it looks like we’ll probably end up somewhere in the neighborhood of 21% turnout,” he said at noon Tuesday. “But we still have eight hours of voting left today, and it’s possible we could see a last-minute surge that takes turnout higher than our projection.”
The turnout this year has been lower than in special elections the previous few years; the May 16, 2023, election, for example, drew a 16.76% turnout the night before Election Day, with 93,680 voters already having cast their ballots. That election ultimately saw 30.06% of voters turn out.
For most county voters, this election’s hot-ticket items are some contested school board races across various districts and, for Portland Public Schools voters, a $1.83 billion bond measure to rebuild three high schools and make repairs across the district’s facilities. We’ll publish results tonight.