Wehby’s ‘Demanding Schedule’ Makes Voting A Challenge
Published 5:00 pm Thursday, June 5, 2014
The 2014 primary election voter turnout was pretty low by Oregon standards, falling unofficially around 35 percent (I’ll have an updated story as soon as final numbers are released). So while that 65 percent who tossed their ballots in the recycling bin (or *gasp* the trash) will remain nameless, there’s one Oregon voter that stands out.
Willamette Week reports in its Murmurs column this week that Dr. Monica Wehby, the GOP nominee for U.S. Senate, did cast a ballot last month, but her track record is spotty. The Portland pediatric neurosurgeon has missed 16 of 31 elections since registering to vote in Oregon. Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) has voted in 46 of 47 elections.
WW reached Wehby’s team for comment and her spokesman, Charlie Pearce, explained that Wehby is very busy.
“As a pediatric neurosurgeon, Dr. Wehby has an extremely demanding schedule that often can change in a second based on the needs of her patients; yet, she still voted in the majority of general elections in which she was eligible,” he wrote to WW.
I don’t doubt that this is true of Wehby’s job, but I’m still skeptical. Starting in November 2000, Oregonians have cast their ballots through the mail and have three weeks to fill them out and send them in. Even the busiest among us still have to come home at some point to check the mail, right?
I reached out to Wehby’s campaign for comment, but received the exact same message as WW in reply.
This story originally appeared on Oregon Public Broadcasting.