VOTE 2025: What to know about the May 20 special election in Salem
In the May 20 election, voters will weigh in on four Salem-Keizer School Board seats, a new Salem city councilor and a proposed property tax increase that would stop cuts to parks and recreation services, the library and Center 50+.
Voters will also decide whether to renew a property tax measure that would fund renovations at Chemeketa Community College’s six campuses to expand career education programs. And Polk County voters will consider a property tax increase that would pay for maintenance and upgrades to the aging Polk County Fairgrounds & Events Center in Rickreall.
All races are nonpartisan, so party affiliation won’t affect what people get to vote on.
The deadline to register to vote is 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, April 29. Ballots will be mailed out around April 30.
Marion County had 227,713 registered voters as of Monday afternoon – about 4,400 more than it did for the May 2023 election. Of those, about 27% are Democrats, 28% are Republicans and 39% are unaffiliated with a political party. The remainder are registered with third parties, with Independent and Libertarian the largest.
Polk County has 63,924 voters – about 1,400 more than in May 2023. They are 27% Democrats, 30% Republicans and 36% unaffiliated.
In the May 2023 election, 23% of Marion County voters cast a ballot, while Polk County had a 29% turnout. Voter turnout is typically low in local races such as city council and school board.
This is your guide to voting in the May 2025 special district election.
How to register to vote
Anyone who is 18 years old by election day, a U.S. citizen and an Oregon resident can vote in the May election. People can register at age 16 but won’t receive a ballot until their 18th birthday.
Registration is available online and requires an Oregon driver license, permit or ID card.
People without a license can complete a paper voter registration form, which is also available in the back of the voter’s pamphlet, and at city halls, in post offices and libraries. To register, return the form to the county election’s office, which also has blank forms to fill out.
People who have moved or changed their name since the last election in November 2024 should update their registration online or fill out a new card. Check to see if your voter registration is up to date on the Oregon Secretary of State website.
Forms can be brought to elections offices in person or mailed, as long as the post office marks it before the registration deadline.
Marion County’s elections office is located at 555 Court St. N.E., suite 2130 in downtown Salem. Send mail to P.O. Box 14500 Salem, OR 97309. Its hours are 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. weekdays.
The Polk County elections office is at 850 Main St. in Dallas. Its hours are 8 a.m. – noon and 1 p.m – 5 p.m. weekdays.
For questions, call Marion County Elections at 503-588-5041, or at 1-800-655-5388. Deaf and hard of hearing voters can call a TTY/TDD line at 503-588-5610.
Polk County Elections can be reached at 503-623-9217, and their number for deaf and hard of hearing voters is 711.
What’s on the ballot
School board
Each of the four races for a seat on the Salem-Keizer School Board has two candidates running.
All but two of the candidates are political newcomers.
As in past years, two political groups have each promoted candidates and are campaigning for them together. Positions are nonpartisan.
School board directors represent a specific zone within the district, but they’re elected at-large, meaning every voter gets a say in all four seats. See a map of school board zones here.
All positions are unpaid four-year terms.
The school board’s primary job is to hire and manage the superintendent. The board also sets broad policies, including adopting goals for improving academic outcomes.
The candidates are:
Zone 1: Lisa Harnisch (incumbent), Anthony Mitchell
Zone 3: Angelo Arredondo Baca, Jennifer Parker
Zone 5: Karina Guzmán Ortiz (incumbent), Jason Kroker
Zone 7: Mel Fuller, Jeremiah Radka
Salem Reporter will bring you in-depth coverage of each race closer to when ballots are mailed out around April 30.
Meantime, you can find information about the candidates below.
City council
Voters will select a new representative for Ward 6 on the Salem City Council, which was vacated when Mayor Julie Hoy left her post as city councilor to take office in January.
The city council has seven other councilors who represent geographic wards and the mayor, who represents the entire city. Salem residents only vote in the race for the ward where they live. The candidate who earns the most votes wins the election.
The three candidates running for Ward 6 include North Lancaster Neighborhood Association Chair Deanna Garcia, correctional officer Logan Lor and Salem family law attorney Mai Vang.
Salem levy
The city of Salem is asking residents to pay more in property taxes to fund services like the library, parks maintenance and Center 50+.
If approved, the levy would generate about $14 million in its first year and help ease the city’s budget crisis.
If voters accept the five-year levy, property taxes would increase by 98 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value, or about $229 annually for the average homeowner in Salem. Tax rates are based on a home’s assessed value, which is typically about half of its market value.
The city’s preliminary budget for the 2026 fiscal year proposed cutting 51 full-time jobs across city departments, including more than half of public library staff and 30% of parks maintenance and recreation staff. It did not make any cuts to police or fire positions but did slash discretionary overtime spending, which allowed police officers to do more community outreach activities.
Two part-time Center 50+ employees would also be cut under the new budget, which would affect programming for seniors.
The cuts would end youth programs and would also close splash pads and water fountains at many of Salem’s parks this summer. The West Salem branch of the Salem Public Library would shutter while the main library branch would only be open 20 hours a week.
The city would avoid making the proposed budget cuts if voters approve the levy.
Anyone who lives within Salem city limits can vote on the levy. That excludes unincorporated areas of east Salem such as Hayesville and Four Corners.
Chemeketa bond
Chemeketa Community College leaders are asking voters to renew existing property taxes to pay for $140 million in campus construction projects.
The college’s Board of Education voted unanimously in February to put a bond measure back on the ballot after voters rejected it in November 2024.
Every voter in Chemeketa’s service district gets to vote on the measure. That area includes all of Marion and Polk counties, most of Yamhill County and a small portion of Linn County.
The bond, if approved, would allow the college to borrow money to be repaid through property taxes. The measure replaces another college bond that’s expiring, so voters would pay the same tax rate — 27 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value, or about $61 per year for an average Salem home. If voters reject the measure, tax rates would decrease when the current bonds expire in 2026.
College President Jessica Howard told Salem Reporter in February that the college’s polling since the November election showed 40% of voters weren’t aware the measure wouldn’t raise tax rates. Many also said they were unaware of what it would pay for.
Howard said 65% of the bond money would fund projects to expand career education programs, including doubling the college’s capacity to train new paramedics.
The bond would pay for an overhaul of Building 7 on the college’s main Salem campus, which holds the gym, to make it a seismically sound community resource in the event of a disaster or catastrophic event.
The college’s Woodburn campus would also get a science lab, allowing Woodburn students to complete a two-year degree without having to commute to Salem to take science courses.
Polk County Fairgrounds levy
Polk County voters will decide whether to approve a property tax increase that would revamp the roughly 72-year-old Polk County Fairgrounds & Events Center in Rickreall.
The five-year levy would cost homeowners 15 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value.
The levy would cost a homeowner with a home assessed at $300,000 roughly $45 extra a year, according to reports from the Polk County Board of Commissioners. If passed, the levy is estimated to generate about $1.2 million in 2025.
The measure would help pay for operations, maintenance, and some upgrades and renovations.
Improvements would include a new HVAC system in the main building and an upgrade to its 1950s-era electrical system, updates to old and unsightly asphalt and sidewalks, and developing the amphitheater and stage at the northeast corner of the property.
The money would also pay for the construction of a new main office where the maintenance shed is currently located, according to the county report.
Contact reporter Ardeshir Tabrizian: [email protected] or 503-929-3053.
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Ardeshir Tabrizian has covered the justice system and public safety for Salem Reporter since September 2021. As an Oregon native, his award-winning watchdog journalism has traversed the state. He has done reporting for The Oregonian, Eugene Weekly and Malheur Enterprise.
