A whopping 154,000 Oregonians returned ballots to county elections offices over the weekend or on Monday, putting turnout in Tuesday’s primary almost where it was at the same point four years ago.
The 150,000-plus votes accounted for 5.2% of all registered voters in the state. In 2018, just 4.7% of voters got their ballots to elections offices on the Saturday, Sunday or Monday ahead of Election Day.
By the end of Monday’s vote-collecting, turnout stood at 22.2%, compared to 22.9% four years ago.
Turnout was particularly strong among Republicans (31.6%) and in a trio of rural eastern Oregon counties: Wheeler (36%), Harney (40%) and Grant (41%).
In sheer number of votes cast, however, Democrats (307,700) far outnumber Republicans (230,000), who in turn have far outvoted those not affiliated with either major party (124,500).
In the Portland metro area, Clackamas County voters lead in the turnout race, with 21.4% percent of ballots returned. In Washington County, that rate is 20.7%, and in Multnomah County, it’s 20.4%.
It’s not too late to vote, either by dropping a ballot into an official drop box by 8 p.m. or getting it postmarked in the mail today. This link on the Secretary of State’s website will help locate drop boxes near you.
Among the hot races on Tuesday’s ballots: two open seats in Congress, created by the retirement of longtime Congressman Peter DeFazio in the 4th District and creation of a new 6th District due to population growth; a competitive race in the reshaped 5th Congressional District; an open race for the Republican and Democratic nominations for governor; a super-heated race between three candidates for a seat on the Portland City Council; races to decide the political balance of the Clackamas County Commission; contested races for district attorney in both Washington and Marion counties; unprecedented challenges to the chair of the Washington County Commission and the president of regional government Metro; the race to become Multnomah County’s first new county commission chair in eight years; and a big-money race for the open position of state labor commissioner.
The outcomes of the races for the congressional 5th District and 6th District could make national headlines. In the 5th, seven-term Democratic Rep. Kurt Schrader is in the toughest race of his political career as fellow Democrat Jamie McLeod-Skinner challenges him from the political left. And in the 6th, outside funders, led by a political committee backed by a Bahamas-based cryptocurrency billionaire, have made it the third-highest-spending contest for Congress in the nation.
-- Betsy Hammond; betsyhammond@oregonian.com