Statewide voter turnout (as of 9:15 pm): 24.7% Multnomah County voter turnout (as of 8 pm): 21.57% Democrat: 8 pm drop, 228,363 votes in Tina Kotek: 84.81% Fora Alexander: 2.2% Republican: 8 pm drop, 185,304 votes in Christine Drazan: 44.37% Ed Diehl: 30.73% Chris Dudley: 15.8% Danielle Bethell: 2.04% David Medina: 4.67%
Derrin Robinson has worked in Oregon elections for more than 30 years, long enough to remember when voters in the state cast their ballots at physical polling sites instead of by mail. As the nonpartisan clerk of Harney County, a vast, rural expanse larger than Massachusetts, Robinson oversees elections with about 6,000 registered voters. Oregon has exclusively conducted elections by mail since 2000, a system he thinks works well, requires fewer staff and doesn't force voters to travel through treacherous weather to reach a polling place. As you can tell, I'm not an advocate for going back, Robinson said.