Oregon voter turnout trails rates in recent elections

About 23% of Oregon voters cast a ballot in

last week’s election

, a drop from the percentage who participated in May elections two and four years ago, state tallies showed Friday.

Statewide turnout hit 27% in May 2023 and 26% during that election in 2021, according to unofficial data posted on the Secretary of State’s website at the time. However, this year’s turnout was higher than the May 2017 election where only 20% of Oregon voters cast a ballot, according to the historical data. The state does not officially track turnout for May elections in odd-numbered years when voters cast ballots in local school board and service district races and weigh in on money measures.

Turnout in all three Portland-area counties appeared to trail recent May elections as well, although official turnout numbers are not final because some ballots that were postmarked Tuesday haven’t yet arrived at election offices and others need signature verification.

As of 5 p.m. Friday, Multnomah County had the region’s best turnout at 26%. That surpassed the May 2021 and 2019 elections, when turnout was approximately 25% and 16%, yet failed to reach the more than 30% turnout the county saw in May 2023 and 2017.

Multnomah’s next ballot release is planned for Wednesday. However, Multnomah County Elections Director Tim Scott said Friday that his office has counted all the ballots it has received so far and expects the only ballots remaining to be those that arrive early next week or ones with signature issues that need to be resolved.

Clackamas County had about 21% turnout as of 5 p.m. Friday. The county’s turnout was eight percentage points below May 2023, although it did surpass the May 2019 election, when less than 19% of the county voted.

The next results from Clackamas will be released Tuesday afternoon. However, the numbers are not expected to significantly change. The county’s Friday ballot drop included all ballots it had received so far, County Clerk Catherine McMullen said Friday.

Washington County was at 22% turnout as of Friday. In May 2023, the county posted a 23% turnout and two years prior, 24% of voters participated in the election.

Similar to the other counties, Washington’s only uncounted ballots are those that will be received by mail after Friday or those with signature problems to be resolved, the county clerk’s office said. The county won’t announce updated results again until 4 p.m., Friday, May 30.

Friday’s near-final results clarified the results of races in Washington, Clackamas and Multnomah counties that had remained too close to call throughout the week.

Mt. Hood Community College’s

$136 million bond

passed, with results showing it ahead by 131 votes Friday afternoon. Partial returns on Election Day showed the bond failing, but as more ballots were tallied, support for the measure grew.

Also on Friday, technology consultant Syed Qasim won an

open seat

on the Beaverton School Board, beating community volunteer Erin Hatch to represent Position 5, which covers schools in the district’s southwestern corner. As of 4 p.m. Friday, Qasim was leading Hatch with 52% of the vote to her 48%. Early returns had placed Hatch in the lead, but that soon flipped, with Qasim gaining votes in successive counts.

Earlier in the week, voters

approved a $1.83 billion

Portland Public Schools bond and a