With the presidential election less than a year away, a  recent survey commissioned by the Oregon Secretary of State Elections Division highlights the challenges facing Oregon’s county clerks. Researchers at Reed College’s Elections & Voting Information Center surveyed nearly all of Oregon’s 36 county clerks who not only administer elections but also record property transactions and issue marriage licenses. But as the survey reveals, that job has become tougher and more stressful in recent years, with mounting threats, harassment and even suspicious mail that was sent earlier this month to clerks’ offices in Oregon, Washington  and several other states. 

More than a third of Oregon’s county clerks have also retired or resigned in 2020, which raises concerns around maintaining adequate staffing heading into an election cycle that takes months to prepare for and certify the results of. Joining us to discuss the challenges facing Oregon county clerks are Paul Manson, the research director of the Elections & Voting Information Center at Reed College and lead author of the survey, Lane County Clerk Dena Dawson and Jackson County Clerk Chris Walker.