Oregon had 2nd-highest vote total in state history

SALEM, Ore. (AP) – Oregon recorded the second-highest number of votes ever cast in an election last month, eclipsed only in 2016, though the percentage of registered voters who cast ballots was the lowest since 2002.

The clashing numbers are due to the number of registered voters having shot upward through Oregon’s “motor voter” automatic voter registration. Only five times since 1960 has the 2018 turnout percentage of 69.7 percent been lower.

The Oregon Secretary of State’s office said on Thursday 1,914,923 ballots were cast last month. In 2016, 2,051,452 were.