Nov. 5 results: Oregon rejects ranked choice voting

by John Q. Murray

Oregon preferred Kamala Harris by 12 points. But with World War III all but declared, U.S. voters emphatically chose the malest of all male candidates to lead the nation in the war years ahead.

There were few surprises locally as Democrats performed as expected:

• U.S. Rep. Val Hoyle leads with 52.6% of the vote to 43.7% for Monique DeSpain.
• State Rep. John Lively is re-elected in Springfield 56-44%.
• A county redistricting proposal opposed by Lane County Democrats is crushed, 75% to 25%.
• In the state’s 12th District, which includes Eugene voters east of East Amazon Boulevard, Republican Darin Harbick of the McKenzie Valley is leading Democrat Michelle Emmons of Oakridge 58%-42%.
• Democrats are sweeping the top statewide offices of secretary of state, attorney general, and treasurer.
• Democrats who won majorities in the May nonpartisan primaries for Eugene, EWEB, and Lane County positions ran unopposed in November and were officially elected.

Ranked choice voting was trailing in the 11 p.m. statewide results by a 60-40 margin, despite support from the League of Women Voters and a broad range of organizations. County clerks opposed the proposal in testimony to the Oregon legislature.

FairVote.org, which has worked to build the ranked choice voting movement over the last 30 years, noted that although failing statewide, RCV is passing in both Oregon counties that already have RCV, “suggesting that when voters use RCV, they like it.” FairVote also says Oregon’s legislature took “the most significant step ever taken by a state legislature to promote RCV” when it placed RCV to the November ballot.

Of nine ballot measures statewide and in Lane County, three are winning, five are currently on track for defeat, and one is in a virtual tie (Nov. 5 11 p.m. results):

• Measure 115 (allow impeachment): Yes leads 63% to 37% no.
• Measure 116 (create commission to set salaries): No leads 53% to 47% yes.
• Measure 117 (ranked choice voting): No leads 60% to 40% yes.
• Measure 118 (tax corporations and distribute to Oregonians): No leads 79% to 21% yes.
• Measure 119 (cannabis workers rights to unionize): Yes leads 55% to 45% no.

• 20-359 (repeal a spending limit in the charter). No leads 50.9% to 49.1% yes, a margin of 2,462 votes among 134,454 votes tallied.
• 20-360 (remove a reference to East Alton Baker Park). Yes leads 52.3% to 47.7% no.
• 20-361 (repeal limits to potential income tax rates. No leads 56.3% to 43.7% yes.
• 20-362 (redistricting), No leads 75% to 25% yes.

The Upper Willamette Soil and Water Conservation District election offered candidates for all five open director positions. Genevieve Schaack, Andy Burke, Craig Marcus, Art Ayre, and Ben Larson were elected, with each receiving more than 65,000 votes.

Voters in the Linn Soil and Water Conservation District elected Hans Coon, Delani Herb, Kreston Koziuk, Steven Kendall, and John Langdon. The Zone 3 director position will be decided by 67 write-in votes.

In the Siuslaw Soil and Water Conservation District, Ray Kinney and Kevin Carroll were elected, and two other at-large districts will be decided by 458 and 372 write-in votes, respectively.

Third-party and independent presidential candidates were almost universally ignored by Oregon voters. RFK Jr. topped the list despite ending his candidacy Aug. 23. His 1.35% of the vote led the Greens’ 0.66%, Libertarians’ 0.34%, Dr. Cornel West at 0.19%, and the Constitution Party at 0.08%.

Lane County will release its next ballot results Nov. 6 at 5 p.m. and Nov. 8 at 5 p.m. The full schedule for releasing results is available at the Lane County elections website.