Does Oregon have primary runoff elections? Yes and no

Gabby Urenda

2 years ago

FILE - In this May 15, 2018, file photo, a voter drops off his ballot on the day of Oregon's primary election at a drive-by, drop-off station in Portland, Ore. Running an election by mail is a major undertaking, involving the U.S. Postal Service, armies of volunteers and even librarians. But for election officials and voters in Oregon, which pioneered all vote-by-mail in the nation 20 years ago, there's no turning back to the old way of having people cast ballots in person at neighborhood polling places. (AP Photo/Don Ryan, File)

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Ballots for Oregon’s primary election have been mailed out, but you might be wondering if you’ll have to vote once more in a runoff election.

KOIN 6 News reached out to the Oregon Secretary of State’s Office to find out if the Beaver State conducts primary runoff elections. Ben Morris, a communications director for the government office, said nonpartisan races do have runoff elections.

“An example would be the (Bureau of Labor and Industries) election in May,” said Morris. “In that contest, if no candidates gets 50% of the vote plus 1, it will go to a runoff in November.”

He added, “Partisan races (governor, congress, state legislature, and others) are different. In those contests, there is no runoff. The candidate with the most votes in the May Primary goes on to represent their party in the General Election.”

For those wanting to learn more about candidates ahead of Oregon’s primary election, KOIN 6 News recently held a Democratic and Republican governor debate for viewers.

The primary is set for May 17.