When Oregon voters cast ballots this year, a relatively new crop of top elections officials will be waiting to tally their votes.
More than a third of Oregon counties, 15, have new county clerks or other top elections officials since the last presidential election in 2020, according to the Oregon Association of County Clerks.
While most of the new faces have a history working in elections, three have not processed ballots in presidential contests in the past, said OACC incoming President Rochelle Long, the Klamath County clerk.
The high turnover comes as election administrators 鈥� in Oregon and nationally 鈥� face increasing hostilities from a bitterly divided electorate. Conspiracy theories that claim, despite evidence, that the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump have resulted in a flood of onerous record requests and even physical threats against election workers.
In 2020, Jackson County election workers came to work one morning to on the parking lot asphalt: 鈥淰ote don鈥檛 work鈥� and 鈥淣ext time bullet.鈥�
Alast year by the Elections & Voting Information Center at Reed College noted that one-in-five elections administrators needed to pause survey interviews about their work because they became too emotional.
鈥淣ational and local scrutiny has moved local election officials from behind their desks to in front of television cameras at a rapid pace,鈥� a report from the nonpartisan research center said. 鈥淧ublic perceptions, information requests, and changing rules have all added to stress.鈥�
County election officials are hugely important to the state鈥檚 democratic process. It鈥檚 their offices that register voters, mail ballots, and collect and tally votes.
It鈥檚 not just hyper-partisanship making the vital job less appealing, the survey found. Elections officials told researchers they don鈥檛 have adequate funding or space to conduct elections in some areas of the state. They said training new employees is a challenge, and that jobs administering elections pay less than they are worth.
鈥淲e had one clerk here in rural Oregon mention that their starting positions are paying less than the In-N-Out Burger,鈥� said Paul Manson, a research assistant professor at Portland State University, who helped to conduct the survey. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 some headwind for them.鈥�
Many clerks who鈥檝e departed in recent years spent decades in their roles, and some simply indicated a wish to retire. 鈥淚鈥檓 at a point in life where I鈥檓 ready to spend time with family and friends,鈥� former Deschutes County Clerk Nancy Blankenship said when , after nearly 20 years. 鈥淚t鈥檚 time to start working on the bucket list I鈥檝e been accumulating over the years.鈥�
Blankenship has since been replaced by Steve Dennison, who previously worked on elections in the office.
Former Curry County Clerk Renee鈥� Kolen worked in the office for nearly four decades 鈥� three of them as elected clerk 鈥� before retiring in January 2023.
鈥淭his office and the people of Curry County have been a huge and wonderful part of my life for the last 37 years and this decision has been extremely difficult for me, but it is time for me to say goodbye,鈥� Kolen.
Kolen was replaced by Shelley Denney, the office鈥檚 former deputy clerk, who of experience in elections.
Other recent retirees made clear that the increasing challenges of the work played a big role in their decision to leave.
Former Polk County Clerk Valerie Unger spoke candidly about the increased pressure of the jobs when she retired last year, telling the Polk County Itemizer-Observer that voters were less and less trustful beginning with the 2020 election.
鈥淚鈥檇 loved my job up until then, felt respected, felt trusted,鈥� Unger . 鈥淭hen that all just went away. If people don鈥檛 trust me, don鈥檛 respect me, I don鈥檛 want to be here anymore.鈥�
Unger was replaced by another longtime employee of the office, Kim Williams.
At least one county sent an election officer packing against their will. Longtime Clackamas County Clerk Sherry Hall in 2022, after overseeing a ballot debacle that led to delayed results in that year鈥檚 May primary.
According to Long with the state clerks鈥� association, counties that have replaced their top election official since the 2020 election are Clackamas, Columbia, Coos, Curry, Deschutes, Grant, Lane, Lincoln, Linn, Polk, Sherman, Tillamook, Union, Washington and Yamhill.
The trend of elections administrators being replaced by people who have long worked by their side is one facet of the high turnover that heartens Paul Gronke, a Reed College political science professor who helped conduct the recent survey of Oregon clerks.
While the departures of clerks around the country have gotten plenty of media attention, he says, it can sometimes be lost in coverage that the people taking the reins of an election office often have extensive expertise
鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 like somebody that they just picked up off of the street,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t was not even somebody that was at the end of the bench. These are people that had been backup catcher or had been utility infielder for decades.鈥�
Even so, Gronke and Manson suspect high turnover rates for election officials are only just getting started. In national surveys they have conducted, 17% of local election officials indicated they are planning to retire before the 2026 election.
鈥淲e鈥檝e always had this sort of 鈥榞ray tsunami鈥� concern in public administration about retirements,鈥� Manson said, using a term that describes an aging workforce. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 sort of heightened now with some of the threat and harassment stories that are coming out.鈥�
