Early Deschutes County Voting Outpaces Previous Midterm Elections

More than 36% of eligible Deschutes County voters have already voted as of Thursday morning in the upcoming Nov. 3 general election, with registered Democrats outpacing Republicans in early returns.

Deschutes County is also slightly outpacing the state in early voting, with a little more than 31% of Oregon voters returning their ballots as of Thursday, according to unofficial reporting from the Oregon Secretary of State. County voters are also slightly outpacing early returns from previous similar elections, according to the Deschutes County Clerk’s Office.

Out of about 61,193 Deschutes County residents who’ve already voted, 25,507 — about 42% — are registered Democrats. Another 19,168 — about 31% — are registered Republicans, and 11,646 — about 19% — are non-affiliated.

The gap will almost certainly shrink as election day nears, as Democrats typically vote earlier than Republicans, according to experts.

Still, Deschutes Republicans Chair Keith Rockow said he feels the early numbers show Republicans are behind and need to work to get out the vote. The party organized a door-knocking campaign through the weekend, he said.

“We’re going to make a push,” he said.

Tuesday’s election could be pivotal at the national level, with Democrats looking to take back control in Congress. And Oregon voters will decide on a governor’s race that appears to be tightly contested. But it’s a big moment for Central Oregon’s local politics, too: it’s the first general election since voters expanded the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners from three to five members, mayor’s races are on the ballot in both Bend and Redmond and voters will decide on a contentious proposal to create districted representation across the County.

Local races are technically nonpartisan, but local Democrat and Republican parties still endorse and help candidates get elected.

Democrat-endorsed candidates took two county commission seats in a May primary election, securing a left-leaning majority on the board for the first time in decades. In two other races, no candidate received 50% of the vote, forcing a general election runoff. In one race, Rob Imhoff, owner of a Bend window covering business, is facing off against local Red Cross chapter leader Morgan Schmidt. In another, voters will decide between Lauren Connally, an administrator for a public defense nonprofit, and civics educator Amy Sabbadini.

Now, Democrats have a chance to sweep the election and control all five seats on the newly expanded County board in 2027.

Deschutes Democrats leadership couldn’t be reached for comment Thursday.

Early signs show voter turnout could eclipse previous elections.

According to data from the past 10 years, Deschutes County voter turnout in midterm elections — when a presidential race isn’t on the ballot, such as 2026 — usually hovers just above 70%. That’s about 10% lower than is typical for a presidential year.

But on Tuesday, one week before the election, turnout was about 5% higher than it was at the same point in 2022, the last midterm elections.

Some races could hinge on the participation of people not registered to either party.

Democrats outnumber Republicans by about 5,000 in Deschutes County, but non-affiliated voters make up the largest category of registered voters. Still, they don’t participate at nearly the same rates as Democrats or Republicans. Only about 51% of non-affiliated voters participated in the 2022 general election, and only about one-fifth have voted so far in the 2026 election.

And more people are submitting their ballots via drop box than usual. As of Wednesday, about three-quarters of early Deschutes County ballots were placed in drop boxes, while nearly one quarter were received in the mail.

In September, Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read encouraged voters to use drop boxes rather than the postal service in the upcoming election, as a battle over President Donald Trump’s orders to restrict mail-in voting played out in the courts. The Supreme Court blocked the order later that month.

Read also persuaded the Oregon legislature to allocate emergency funds for 20 additional drop boxes across the state — one of which arrived in Deschutes County Oct. 15.

On Tuesday, Read urged voters who hadn’t already mailed ballots to use drop boxes instead to ensure the ballots make it in time.