Letters to the Editor: November 18, 2022

Election process secure

Since 2008, I have worked in every function of every election conducted by three different Yamhill County clerks.

The November 8, 2022, general election was not the smoothest, but it was far from being the worst.

Most certainly this election was the most demanding, with an extremely high ballot return in the final 48 hours. The resulting workload doubled that experienced in previous elections.

I was personally involved in the process Monday and from 8 a.m. to almost 8 p.m. on Election Day. My wife worked in the primary ballot processing room Monday and from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Election Day.

Neither of us saw anything unusual beyond staff and workers striving to deal with the sudden massive workload. The pace was rapid and intense, but procedures and processes were followed to the letter by staff and workers alike. The election was safe and secure!

At the same time, dozens of volunteers had to be organized and dispatched for the 8 p.m. final emptying and locking of ballot drop boxes across the county. And, there were multiple observers on hand as well. Staff and workers were stretched to their limits. What could be humanly done was done, as correctly and timely as possible.

Those who complain about what they “observed” and about a regrettable computer reporting error simply refuse to understand the unusual circumstances of the last two days of this election. They fail to respect the exceptional efforts of election staff and workers.

In my opinion, these folks have their own agendas, grinding their axes on a remarkable accomplishment on behalf of the voting rights of county voters. Those complaining could not have done better themselves.

Ken Dollinger

McMinnville

Set for life

Some 75% of Americans believe that the country is headed in the wrong direction, yet being a politician at any level is the safest job in the United States. That’s not to mention the potential retirement benefits, which far exceed those of most Americans.

Jim LeTourneux

Sheridan

Knight’s misadventure

All those in favor of Tina Kotek being elected governor, send some homemade cookies to Phil Knight. A deciding factor in the gubernatorial race might very well have been the pile of money he gave to Betsy Johnson’s campaign to make it just viable enough to be taken seriously. He followed up, of course, by funneling millions into Christine Drazen’s campaign.

A look at how Clatsop and Columbia counties voted, counties predisposed to vote for Johnson due to her connection with that area, is instructive. They combined for around 54,000 votes.

Clatsop broke 39.82% for Kotek, 36.50% for Drazen and 22.91% for Johnson, Columbia 29.06% for Kotek, 49.19% for Drazen and 20.96% for Johnson. Other counties of 20,000 votes or more with higher-than-average percentages for Johnson were Deschutes 10.50% of 102,476 votes and Lincoln with 10.08% of 25,653 votes.

Statewide, Johnson came in at under 9%. I suggest a takeaway from this is that Phil Knight’s heavy early support of Johnson took more votes from Drazen than it did Kotek.

It was a hard but honorable contest, thanks to the character of the people involved. We in Oregon were treated to a very gracious concession speech by Christine Drazan, who is certainly to be commended for her civility.

Scott Phoenix

Newberg