We can be proud of our voter turnout – almost 82%! Thank you for voting.View the Multnomah County and Oregon Election Results here.
Virginia Kase, CEO of the League of Women Voters of the U.S., wrote:
As I reflect upon the 2020 election cycle, the most important story I see is the remarkable determination of the American voter. Through a pandemic, shifting voting laws, disinformation campaigns, and numerous other hurdles, voters rallied to make their voices heard in greater numbers than ever before. Things may feel messy right now, but we must remain encouraged. While we may not have election results for several days, or even weeks, as an unprecedented number of votes are counted, we can celebrate the resilience of democracy in the United States of America while we exercise patience waiting for final results.
The LWV of Portland has debriefed the experts about this election’s meaning and impact. What do the results mean – locally, statewide and nationally?
photo credit -Multnomah County Elections
The League of Women Voters of Portland asked three experienced political analysts to discuss the 2020 election. Who voted? What influenced the outcomes? What are the implications for our community and democracy. You can watch their recorded discussion on this website now.
View the recording of this program by clicking below:
The panelists are:
Barbara Dudley – Senior fellow at Portland State University’s Center for Public Service. Barbara appears regularly on OPB’s Think Out Loud Friday News Roundtable. She is also a senior policy adviser for the Oregon Working Families Party. She formerly served as president/executive director, National Lawyers Guild; executive director, Greenpeace USA; and national AFL-CIO Assistant Director for Strategic Campaigns.
John Horvick – Director for Client Relations and Political Research at DHM Research, a nonpartisan and independent public opinion research firm. He regularly speaks on issues of community, policy, and governance to public officials and governing bodies and is a political analyst for OPB and Fox 12 News.
Priscilla Southwell – University of Oregon professor with expertise in U.S., European, and Oregon politics, elections, voting by mail, and political behavior. Previously, she headed the U of O Department of Political Science and served as the university’s Associate Dean of Social Sciences.
Moderator: James Ofsink. James currently leads the LWVPDX Criminal Justice Interest Group and is a member of the Police Accountability Study Group. He is also serving a four-year term as a Tax Supervising and Conservation Commissioner, appointed by the governor.
MetroEast Community Media recorded the program for streaming from this website and for later broadcast on public access cable channels.
Funding for the recording was provided by the Carol & Velma Saling Foundation.
The League of Women Voters of the U.S. published this essay on reasons to trust vote by mail. It was written by the co-president of the LWV of Johnson County, Kansas. Below are summaries of her five reasons. Click here to read the whole article.
Americans have voted by mail since the Civil War! (And all Oregon elections have been by mail since 1999.)
It is difficult for someone to vote another person’s ballot. Every signature is checked to make sure it matches the signature of a registered voter.
The mailing, delivery, processing and counting of mail-in ballots are protected by security measures.
Vote-by-mail does not favor any party over another. Research has shown that making voting easier helps all voters.
Research shows that voter fraud is very rare.
Watch our video showing all the ways we protect mail-in voting in Oregon.
Look for voting information on Vote411.org and on this website. The League is preparing to help you choose Portland’s next City Commissioner for Position 2. Two candidates, Dan Ryan and Loretta Smith, are running to fill this vacant seat. To help you compare them, we held a debate. You will find the video of the debate posted on Vote411.org OR click here for our August 11 Special Election page under Vote. In addition, both websites will show the candidates’ written answers to six questions about current city issues. The video and candidates’ answers are available on demand from July 22 through Election Day.
Vote July 23 through Election Day, Tuesday, August 11.
Ballots were mailed to Portland voters beginning on Wednesday July 22. To vote in this special election, voters must register by July 21. The last day to mail your ballot is Thursday, August 6. However, you can drop your ballot off at an official drop site up until 8 pm on August 11.
View the Multnomah County and Oregon Election Results here.
