Oregon voters may have record turnout in 2020 election

(NOVEMBER 1, 2020) Election Day is Tuesday, November 3. However, people in Oregon can vote by mail. That means they can vote early. So while many states in the country may still be counting votes after Tuesday, Oregon will probably know its state results much sooner.

According to Willamette Week newspaper, 60% of registered voters in Multnomah County have already returned their ballots. Multnomah County includes the city of Portland. It represents about 20% of the state's population.

Tim Scott is the director of Multnomah County Elections. He said it is possible that Multnomah County voters could set a new record. He said turnout (participation) might reach 90% this year.

Rural counties are seeing a higher turnout, too. In Yamhill County, more than 45,000 ballots have already been returned. That's about 62% of eligible voters.

"It's been a remarkable turnout," said Brian Van Bergen. He is the Yamhill County Clerk. He told KGW news, "We are miles ahead [of where we were in 2016]!"

In the 2016 election, there were 2,553,808 total registered voters in Oregon. 2,051,452 people voted. That means that 80.33% of registered voters participated in the election four years ago.