Deschutes County clerk certifies vote tally; Knopp defeats Kiely in Senate race

Ballot returns topped 85%

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Deschutes County Clerk Nancy Blankenship said Friday she has certified the county’s Nov. 3 general election results and forwarded final results to the state.

And in one of the closest races of the election, state Sen. Tim Knopp, R-Bend, held onto his District 27 seat, defeating Democratic challenge Eileen Kiely by fewer than 1,600 votes.

Knopp, who trailed in the initial ballot count the night of Nov. 3 but took the lead overnight, finished with 49,207 votes, 1,587 more than Kiely, who garnered 47,621 votes, or about 49 percent of the total.

Since Election Day on Nov. 3, county elections staff has been adjudicating ballots to determine voter intent, counting votes, documenting votes for one “no candidate filed” race, contacting voters with signature challenges and curing signature challenges so that all votes are counted.

A total of 85.28% of the 150,696 eligible Deschutes County voters returned ballots.

“I want to thank every single one of you who cast a ballot during the 2020 general election,” Blankenship. said “We saw record early voting this year, and heard from many that were first-time voters. It’s always exciting to see residents cast ballots and make their voices heard.”

Final election results are available at www.deschutes.org/electionresults.