Free and Fair: Elections in the Gorge

Apr 15

Written By Columbia Community Connection

Photo from the February Forum courtesy Jurgen Hess:

From Mid-Columbia Unitarian Universalist Fellowship:

By Dick Withers

Hood River, Ore. April 15, 2026 — The Gorge UU Fellowship is sponsoring a Community Forum on voting and elections in The Gorge on Thursday, April 17, from 6:30 to 8:00 pm at the Rockford Grange, 4262 Barrett Drive, Hood River.

The public is invited to attend and participate in this timely discussion about how elections are conducted in our Mid-Columbia communities, from voter registration to counting ballots.

Panelists include the Clerks of Wasco and Hood River Counties and the Auditor of Klickitat County. Participants will also hear from the League of Women Voters and from experienced election workers. Curiosity and questions are encouraged.

At a time when the safety and integrity of the electoral process is questioned, this is an opportunity to combat misinformation and disinformation, and to learn how to support free and fair elections.

Objectives for the forum include: informing the public about current procedures; identifying challenges facing local elections operations; exploring proposals for improving election integrity; and identifying opportunities for members of the public to support elections in The Gorge.

Your vote is a central piece in the larger jigsaw puzzle of pieces that connect to make a successful election and ultimately a working democracy. Defend the vote!

This is the second in a series of public forums in a series on Democracy sponsored by the Mid-Columbia Unitarian Universalist Fellowship at the Rockford Grange. The first forum in February explored issues of Free Speech and the Press in the Gorge. For more information, contact the forum moderator Richard Withers at richard.withers@att.net