Clackamas County Completes Count Of Primary Election Ballots

OREGON CITY, Ore. — On the day of the deadline for the May 17th primary election to be certified, Clackamas County reports that all ballots have been counted.

Staff for the past four weeks have been duplicating ballots that had blurry barcodes preventing them from being counted by computer.  Workers operated in pairs with one Democrat and one Republican taking turns doing the duplication.

Workers check ballots at elections offices in Clackamas County, Oregon, the state’s third most populous county south of Portland, Tuesday, May 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus)

“I want to thank the Board of County Commissioners for their support, and especially County Administrator Gary Schmidt for providing the staffing resources needed to complete the elections process on time.  I also want to extend my gratitude to the hundreds of county employees who worked many hours, my own staff and usual election staff who worked countless hours.  We’re very pleased to have completed the count on time and to certify the election on deadline date as set by state law,” said Clackamas County Clerk Sherry Hall.

Clerk Hall says they will review and evaluate their processes and procedures “as an ongoing commitment to preserve election integrity and security”.  She has come under fire for not asking for help earlier and not taking responsibility for the mistake.

Related | Lawmaker Calls For Investigation Of Clackamas County’s Ballot Fiasco

The Oregon Secretary of State’s Office has ordered the county to audit the results.

Related | Oregon Secretary Of State Orders Post Election Audit In Clackamas County

The county received just over 116,000 ballots by May 24th, the cutoff for post-marked ballots to be counted due to a new state law.  That’s a 37% turnout.

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