Historic Hood River
Election Summary
11-3-2020
Notes
Here’s the officially certified results of the election of June 2, 1884. While we’re used to knowing the results quickly, the official count always takes much longer. Modern election rules require periods to tally ballots, resolve errors or challenges, recounts, etc. Today’s General Election isn’t officially certified until December 18th.
There were 149 ballots cast in the Hood River Precinct of Wasco County during this 1884 election. There are 15833 eligible voters in Hood River County today. Let’s see how many return their ballots in time to be counted.
L.E.
If they would have allowed women to vote in 1884, there would have been more ballots cast.
Kyle
Beautiful handwriting.
Jeffrey Bryant
Falls Precinct, Wasco county, Oregon was also part of current Hood River county in the 1880 Census. So the numbers do not reflect all of the voters.
ArthurB
Jeffrey, do you know if census precincts and election precincts are the same? I think you’re probably right and this just the city vote, but I wonder how many precincts there were in what is now HR County. There were certainly a lot of school districts.
Jeffrey W Bryant
From the 1880 Wasco County census I think only the Falls and Hood River precincts are now in Hood River county. There was also an Oak Grove precinct, which equals Wapanita.
L.E.
Back in 1884, did you have to wait for a newspaper to be published to find out who won the election?
ArthurB
Well, Hood River didn’t even have a newspaper until 1889. I suspect results of local elections were nailed to a tree somewhere, and you would wait for the Dalles or Portland newspaper or a steamship captain to tell you the results of state and national races.
Railroad arrived in 1882 so I’m sure newspapers were available with a little delay.