GOP may lose tied Senate: Bates ballot switch raises fraud questions

Election update,

On election night Republican challenger Dave Dotterer was 1000 votes ahead of Democrat Senator Alan Bates. A “surprising” swing of latest ballots has put Bates ahead by 200 or so ballots. There is speculation that an unexplained drop-box came in late in Josephine County elections and it caused the surge. One interesting fact is that Jackson County has 3,500 challenged ballots which is high when compared to 400 challenged ballots in Marion County for example.

The outcome of this race could determine whether the Republicans have a tied State Senate with a 15-15 Democrat-Republican party split or whether they slide down to 14-16.