Some of us, it turns out, have not yet voted. There are 61,222 registered voters in Benton County, and as of Wednesday, only 9,948 ballots had been returned; that’s a 16.25% turnout. But maybe don’t get discouraged too quickly.
As low as that is, County spokesperson Cory Grogan, who gave us the numbers, is quick to point out there is often a large last-minute turnout as well. And hey, we at The Advocate want to help that along, so down below, links to useful stuff.
Ballot drop boxes
Because it’s a little late to be mailing that ballot, we’d suggest using one of the many ballot drop boxes ubiquitously dotting our fair burgh’s landscape. There’s an easily usable County webpage with all the locations; you can click here for that. Scroll down below the main office location and Oregon locator options for a drop box in your neighborhood.
The Corvallis Advocate’s Endorsements
Here’s where we tell you what we think. If you agree, great. And, if not, well, you have a ballot. Appreciated by some, and not so much by others, our 2026 primary election endorsements are as usual, quick and to the point. As in elections past, you’ll see some surprises. The vibe is peaceable fact-based opinion with an occasional chuckle. Click here for our endorsements.
Race for Benton County Circuit Court Judge
Mike Flinn is running for County Judge; his supporters point to his thirty years of experience as a zealous prosecutor and equally zealous defense attorney. However, many sexual assault survivors have a different view, we speak to two of them, their families, and to Mike Flinn. We also spoke with Corvallis attorney Lorena Reynolds concerning her interaction with Flinn on behalf of a survivor. As you may already know, we’ve endorsed one of Flinn’s opponents. Click here for the full story.
County Commissioner Candidates’ Debate
This wide-ranging Advocate hosted debate between County Commissioner incumbent Pat Malone and challenger John Wilson touches on topics like the Coffin Butte Landfill expansion, economic development, gaps in local health care, housing and homelessness, and the list could go on – definitely worth a watch.
Statewide, About 12% of Oregon Voters Have Cast Ballots
Oregon election officials have received 357,000 ballots as of Tuesday, about 12% of the 3.1 million sent to registered voters across the state ahead of the May 19 primary.
That’s a third of the overall voter turnout during the 2024 primary, according to the Oregon Secretary of State’s Elections Division, though voters still have a week to get their ballots in, ideally via ballot boxes with just seven days left to vote.
Voter turnout so far is on track with previous years, according to John Horvick, senior vice president and elections expert at Portland-based DHM Research. The average voter turnout was about 11% one week before primary elections from 2002 to 2022, he said.
Voter turnout in the primary will play a key role for several races, particularly for the 14 Republican candidates vying for their party’s nomination to run for governor in November. The primary will also determine whether new party challengers will beat out incumbent Democratic lawmakers and Republican state lawmakers, and in Oregon’s 2nd Congressional District, it’ll determine which of six Democrats will very likely challenge U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz, an Ontario Republican, in November.
A larger proportion of Republican voters have sent in their ballots so far — about 17% of registered Republicans as opposed to 15% of registered Democrats. By numbers, however, more registered Democrats have submitted ballots because there are more registered Democrats in Oregon.
“It’s not a huge difference, but typically, Republicans do tend to turnout a little bit more in these primary elections. And again, they have the highest profile elections on the Republican side,” he said.
As of Tuesday, about 144,000 Democrats had cast ballots, accounting for 40% of the votes received so far. Republicans had cast about 123,300 ballots, representing 35% of the total vote.
The remaining 25% of votes came from non-affiliated voters or voters registered with third parties. Oregon has a closed primary system, so these voters can’t vote for Republican or Democratic candidates in this election, but they can still vote in nonpartisan races, such as the race to lead Oregon’s Bureau of Labor & Industries and on measures to enact or repeal laws, raise taxes and other issues.
“It’s early, you know, plenty of time for voters to get in, but I’d say right now, overall turnout looks pretty typical,” Horvick said.
Oregon’s most populous county has the lowest voter turnout so far
Multnomah County, the state’s most populous county, stands out for lowest voter turnout out of Oregon’s 36 counties so far, Horvick said. Only 8.5% of voters had turned in their ballots as of Tuesday, according to state data.
He said it’s likely because Portland in 2024, and Multnomah County this year, officially switched to ranked-choice voting for city and county elections, rendering primaries moot for local races because voters can select and rank multiple candidates in the November general election, with the top one getting elected. But Portlanders and Multnomah County residents filling out primary ballots will still be choosing gubernatorial, congressional and legislative candidates, and deciding local ballot measures.
“In previous years, we would have competitive city council and county commission races right now, and that would drive interest and potentially turnout, but because they changed the voting system, those elections no longer occur,” Horvick said.
Statewide coverage by Mia Maldonado of news partner Oregon Capital Chronicle. Local update by Steven J. Schultz. Story about Mike Flinn by Taylor Pedersen. Endorsements from The Corvallis Advocate Editorial Board.
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