LOC News
Voter Turnout Sparse for May 20 Statewide Elections
For this spring’s election cycle, just 20.58% of Oregon’s voters took the time to vote. Several counties had less than 20% of voters turning out, and just six counties had voter turnouts exceeding 30%, with Morrow County leading all counties with 38%.
As for the content of the elections, the vast majority of all local ballots were dominated by school board elections and positions for local districts. Statewide, there were only 60 city measures on the ballot, with three-quarters of those focused on financial questions related to bonds, levies, or tax proposals.
Several local measures across the state have yet to be decided. Several local school bond measures or infrastructure levies have margins of a few hundred votes separating pass and fail. Another indication of how everyone’s vote does count.
The LOC will have a full election summary available by the end of next week. The preliminary results generally show a mixed bag of communities supporting significant funding proposals for new schools. However, an equal number of communities continue to struggle with voter support for bonds or levies.
Contact: Jim McCauley, Legislative Director – jmccauley@orcities.org
Last Updated 5/23/25