Over half of the anti-Trump protesters arrested in Portland didn't even vote

There were anti-Trump protestors arrested in Portland and half of them did not vote.

(Image credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

published 15 November 2016

Over half of the anti-Donald Trump protesters arrested at recent demonstrations in Portland, Oregon, did not vote in the election, KGW reports. Of 112 people arrested by the Portland Police Bureau during the protests, at least 70 either did not turn in a ballot or were not registered to vote.

KGW arrived at its findings by comparing names of arrested individuals provided by the police with state voter logs held by Multnomah County Elections officials.

The head-scratching phenomenon is not isolated to Oregon, either. Ben Becker, an organizer with the New York-based antiwar and antiracism group Answer Coalition, told The New York Times that many of the local protest leaders in the state had supported Bernie Sanders in the primary and chose not to vote in the general election, or picked a third-party candidate.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.