Why did Oregon get bluer while the nation got redder? [View all]

[ErikJ]

Voters across the nation awoke Wednesday morning to find their state at least a little bit redder than it was the day before.

The exception to that trend was Oregon where Democrats held the governorship while picking up seats in the state Legislature.

So, why did Oregonians step a little closer to the Democrats while their counterparts across the country stepped away?

Melissa Buis Michaux, an associate professor of politics at Willamette University, said the first clue can be found by looking at voter turnout.

Oregon had one of the highest turnouts at 69.5 percent.

In comparison, Maryland (a blue state that elected a Republican governor) had a voter turnout of 45 percent — which was 9 percentage points lower than the turnout it saw in 2010.

Low turnout favors Republican candidates because the people who stay home or fail to fill out a ballot are usually younger voters, minority voters and low-income voters.

"A lot of explanation for what happened in other states had to do with very low turnout levels," Buis Michaux said.

OK, if higher turnout favors Democratic candidates, what makes Oregonians vote at significantly higher rates than people living in the 49 other states?

One answer that gets bandied about is Oregon's vote-by-mail system.

Another possibility is the issues on the ballot itself prompted more people to vote.

Oregon elects its governor during midterm elections, and in 2014 we voted on marijuana, GMO labeling and whether to give driver ID cards to people who couldn't prove a legal presence.

http://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/2014/11/06/oregon-get-bluer-nation-got-redder/18625195/
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Another article says however that 70% turnout is TYPICAL for Vote-By-Mail Oregon, invalidating the marijuana theory.

Statewide voter turnout was typical at 69.5 percent

http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/11/voter_turnout_of_695_percent_i.html