As of 9:45. p.m. on Tuesday, November 3rd, the first wave of races in the 2020 General Election have been decided, and SEIU 503 members wish to congratulate the pro-worker candidates who have won and urge patience and caution to ensure that every vote is counted to determine who wins the presidential election. SEIU 503 President-Elect Mike Powers and Executive Director Melissa Unger released the following statement:

“As we expected, it is taking longer to count our votes and verify a winner in this year’s election. We must count every vote. For democracy to work for all of us, every eligible voter must have our voices heard and our votes counted. Our elections include 51 separate counts across the states and Washington, D.C. Each is administered by qualified officials who take their job of counting eligible votes seriously. This election will be decided once every vote is counted.”

While we await the outcome of the presidential election, Oregon has seen significant victories for working families in races that have already been decided. Electing Shemia Fagan as our next Secretary of State protects the integrity of Oregon’s election system and democracy when it’s needed most. And one of our own SEIU 503 members, Deb Patterson, is ahead in a race to represent Salem in the Oregon State Senate! 

SEIU 503 members drive our political program and it’s our hard work and volunteer effort that contributed to tonight’s wins. This election, we called over 300,000 Oregon voters, texted nearly 11,000 more, and left campaign literature at more than 16,800 homes. We’d like to thank our members and staff who helped lead many of these campaigns to victory. We’ll provide updates as additional races are finalized. Every vote must be counted.