Oregon had the nation’s highest turnout rate in the November 2022 election

For the first time ever, Oregon had the highest voter turnout rate in the nation for last November’s election.

A voter drops off a ballot in a drop box in Portland, Ore., on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022.
*Claire Rush / AP*

Former Oregon Secretary of State Phil Keisling now leads a national effort to expand voting from home.

He says the state just barely came out on top, when measuring turnout among all eligible Oregonians.

”61.5% of all the eligible citizens in Oregon cast a ballot in our election,” he said, “and we edged out Maine by .05%”

Keisling said Oregon has had a relatively high turnout rate since the state implemented its pioneering vote-by-mail system 25 years ago. But he said the numbers have really ramped up since Oregon’s “motor voter” law was updated in 2016 to automatically register people to vote when they get a driver’s license.

”So getting to No. 1, first time in modern history, is an achievement,” he said.

Oregon saw several big ticket statewide ballot items in 2022, including a governor’s race with three top candidates as well as measures on gun restrictions, health care as a right in its constitution, removal of slavery exceptions in the constitution and limits on walkouts by state lawmakers.