Voter Turnout in Oregon Exceeded Expectations 

It is probably a testament to Oregon’s voter enfranchisement campaigns.

TURNOUT TURNED UP: Multnomah County elections workers had plenty of ballots to sort. (Motoya Nakamura)
By Rachel Monahan

Voter turnout typically hinges on presidential primaries. The race for the Democratic nomination was a sleepy affair by the time it reached Oregon. Yet voters mailed in their ballots anyway. “Turnout was quite high,” says pollster John Horvick of Portland firm DHM Research. “Partisans turned out more than expected.”

More than 42 percent of all adult Oregonians who could vote did. That’s the same number as in 2008, when Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were battling, or in 2016, when Bernie Sanders had yet to concede to Clinton.

It could be that voters had more time on their hands. It is probably a testament to Oregon’s voter enfranchisement campaigns—from automatically registering drivers at the DMV to vote to offering free postage on ballots.

Eligible Voters

Willamette Week’s reporting has concrete impacts that change laws, force action from civic leaders, and drive compromised politicians from public office. Support WW's journalism today.