The final voting tally could rise or fall on a number of factors, driving higher numbers of ballots but also a more fragmented tally. An open governor’s office, redistricting and a new congressional seat have uncorked a torrent of suppressed political ambition.

With Gov. Kate Brown unable to seek re-election because of term limits, there is no incumbent on the ballot for the first time since 2010. Even that year, former Gov. John Kitzhaber was seeking (and would eventually win) a return to office.

The last ballot without an incumbent — or Kitzhaber — was in 2002, The race for governor has drawn 19 Republicans and 15 Democrats. One each will remain after the primary – though former Sen. Betsy Johnson, D-Scappoose, is mounting a well-financed “unaffiliated” bid that would require submitting about 24,000 valid signatures to the Secretary of State by the end of August to be placed on the November ballot.

Redistricting approved last year for the 2022 election has moved congressional and legislative district lines, leading to a high-speed game of political musical chairs involving retirements, candidates changing races, and head-on collisions between officeholders seeking new jobs.

The races for Congress have attracted a bumper crop of candidates. There are two exceedingly rare open seats in the U.S. House. Voters will cast ballots for six congressional seats — one more than the last election, awarded to Oregon due to its rapid population growth over the previous decade.

The new 6th Congressional District seat centered around Salem has attracted nine Democrats and seven Republicans. The 4th Congressional District seat is open due to the retirement of U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Springfield. After DeFazio announced late last year that he wouldn’t seek another term, he endorsed Labor Commissioner Val Hoyle, who dropped her bid for re-election to run for the seat. But seen other Democrats and one Republican are also running.

U.S. Rep. Kurt Schrader, D-Canby, is running in a largely redrawn district that now stretches from Portland, over the Cascades, to Bend and parts of Deschutes County. He’s being challenged in the Democratic primary and the race has drawn multiple Republican candidates as well.

Even before the postage date change was approved by the Legislature last year, Oregon primary elections could be a headache for those counting votes. Gov. Kate Brown won her first race — a 1992 bid to retain a House seat in Portland against the former incumbent – by just seven votes.

That was a landslide compared to the 2018 win by Republican Jack Zika of Redmond. It took several weeks to finalize his two-vote margin of victory for the 53rd House District seat. Zika won the general election in November. He is not running again in 2022, putting his redrawn seat up for grabs again this year.