EUGENE, Ore. — After months of buildup and amid the most divided political climate in decades, Oregonians will learn the results of Election Day on Tuesday night.
Last-minute voters have until 8 p.m. to drop off their completed ballots at one of the 21 drop boxes around Lane County. It is too late to mail your ballot and have it counted. Saturday, by the way, was the 20th anniversary of voter approval of Oregon’s then-unique vote-by-mail system.
State and county elections officials will release the first batch of election results at 8 p.m.
The statewide election is highlighted by the race between Democratic Gov. Kate Brown and her Republican challenger, Knute Buehler, the most expensive political contest in Oregon’s history. Recent polls showed Brown with a slim lead.
Both candidates spent part of their last day of the campaign in Eugene seeking to motivate last-minute and youth voters to turn in their ballots and potentially turn the close contest in their favor.
Brown appeared with U.S. Rep Peter DeFazio and U.S. Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden at the University Of Oregon’s Erb Memorial Union for a rally to drum up support among youth voters.
Buehler made a brief stop at his campaign office in Eugene to meet with volunteers, supporters and last-minute voters.
Christian Gaston, spokesman for Brown’s campaign, reiterated that while the polling has been close, Brown has consistently been ahead — a trend he was confident would hold through election night.
“We have continued to see just a really strong showing,” he said. “You go out and talk to people. They know the governor is up for re-election. They are supporting her.”
Monica Wroblewski, a spokeswoman for the Buehler campaign, said the challenger is feeling optimistic given how close the polling is in the race’s homestretch. Oregon voters haven’t elected a Republican governor since 1982.
“What is it? The good old saying, ‘Your final poll is what the outcome is on Election Day.’ We’re working for every vote,” Wroblewski said.
As of Monday afternoon, 46 percent of Lane County’s registered voters had returned their ballot, trending ahead of the midterm elections four years ago. Statewide, at least 40 percent of registered voters had returned ballots ahead of Tuesday, a notable uptick from 2014.
This year’s election also has several high-profile state measures, including the proposed repeal of Oregon’s “sanctuary” state law, a constitutional amendment to allow local governments to use their bond authority to finance privately led affordable housing projects, and the proposed prohibition of any statewide grocery taxes.
Local measures are led by the Eugene School District’s $319 million construction bond, the largest tax ask in county history. Other measures include a $10 million road construction bond in Springfield and a proposal to change the way voters elect candidates for elected Lane County offices through the Score Then Automatic Runoff, or STAR, voting process.
There’s also a high-profile race between incumbent Lane County Commissioner Gary Williams and challenger Heather Buch for the seat that represents eastern Lane County, as well as for the open House District 11 seat between Republican Mark Herbert and Democrat Marty Wilde.
