Published 2:30 pm Wednesday, November 4, 2026

Deschutes County voters defeated a measure that would have split the county into five districts for future commissioner races.

61.9% of voters were against the map, compared to 38.1% in favor, according to unofficial results Wednesday morning.

What happens next is unclear. The now five-person Deschutes County commission will have to make some decisions on what comes next for how future commissioners will be elected, but what they decide will go to voters for the final decision.

Incoming commissioner Rick Russell, taking on the newly-created position 4, was “surprised that voters rejected it so strongly,” he told The Bulletin Wednesday morning. “Voters want to choose their commissioners and could see through the partisan plan.”

The commissioners could opt to keep the current system — entirely at-large voting — in place. That means all Deschutes County voters have a vote in every race, though commissioners could all live in the same geographic area.…