Election Day 8:00 p.m.

The Oregon polls closed at 8 p.m. PST Tuesday night with people still lined up to drop off their ballots or vote in person at the Lane County Elections Office. The voting process doesn’t end there. Just behind the doors, a flurry of action took place to ensure all votes were counted and voting Oregonians had their voice heard. 

When a ballot gets dropped off, it goes through a stringent process of sorting, signature review, deconstruction, reconciliation and finally adjudication. Observers nominated by both parties are allowed to observe the vote count process, separated from all workers validating Oregon’s mail-in ballots. 

Ron has been an election observer for the Democratic party for 10 years worth of elections.  He said this was the busiest night he’s seen.

He observes the voting process because he believes it “completes the loop” of understanding how the voting process works. Ron is a part of the election integrity caucus and believes that security measures in the voting process are very important. 

Ron stayed away from the national results to focus on the Oregon ballot count. 

John, a Republican and Oregon native who originally came to help with the vote count, sat in the deconstruction room intently watching as workers tamped ballots against the tables. He was feeling optimistic about the national results, although he was concerned about the validity of the election results. “I have a strange feeling something bad is happening,” he said. “The [2020] election was absolutely rigged.” [There is no evidence of systematic voter fraud in the 2020 election.]

As a property manager in Lane County, he believes that renters’ votes should count less than property owners. “If I could wave a magic wand and go back to a time when you owned property to vote, I would.” 
To him, the three most important issues this election are inflation, border protection and protecting property. “This land is our home,” he said. He hopes President Trump will deport everyone who “tresspasses” or who are illegal immigrants.