PAGE A2, KEIZERTIMES, APRIL 22, 2022 MANDATE, Continued from page A1 “Really throughout the pandemic, there has been an undercount,” said Jeanne. When the only people report- ing COVID infections are hospitals, he said it’s difficult to get an accurate number. “What’s changed is that we have a significant number of people who are testing at home, and if they take a test that indicates a negative result, they often just throw it out - we have no way of tracking those, so we try to account for that,” said Jeanne. “Our methodol- ogy - OHSU’s methodology - incorpo- rates mask wearing when we’re making our estimates. The lifting of the man- date for transportation just happened,” he said in reference to available data. The OHA officials assured report- ers they had confidence in Oregon’s ability to avoid the worst of the BA.2 variants, and recommended continued mask-wearing for people at high risk of infection. “We now have 83% of Oregonians who have received at least one course of the vaccine,” said Jeanne. “The vac- cines are designed to keep people out of the hospital.” “The vaccine is still offering signif- icant protection,” added Cieslak. “But I think you can take it as a given that there is a lot of COVID out there.” Oregon officials strive to rebuild trust as 1 in 5 voters don't believe 2020 results BY JULIA SHUMWAY Of the Oregon Capital Chronicle About one in five Oregon voters, including about half of Republicans, believe voter fraud changed the results of the 2020 election. That’s one result of a February sur- vey from the Oregon Values and Beliefs Center, a nonpartisan public opinion research organization, which also found that Oregonians are sharply divided over how to describe an attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. While a majority of Democrats describe the incident as an “attempted coup or insurrection,” a plurality of Republicans called it a “riot out of con- trol” and voters unaffiliated with either party were split between those options. Nearly a quarter of Republicans endorsed the false claim that the violence was perpetrated by political opponents of former President Donald Trump, and 16% of Republicans and 10% of other vot- ers claimed it was a reasonable protest. Respondents were similarly divided along partisan lines when it came to questions about fraud in the 2020 presi- dential election. About 86% of Democrats surveyed in Oregon agreed that there was virtually no fraud or very little fraud with no impact on the results, and a slim majority of independents and other voters felt the same way. Less than a A stack of counted and signed ballot envelopes at the Marion County Elections Of- fice. Photo By Amanda Loman of Salem Reporter. third of Republicans agreed with those statements. Instead, 49% of Republicans said major fraudulent voting changed the outcome of the election. These survey results resemble research that Reed College conducted at the behest of the Oregon Secretary of State’s Office in 2020, which found a majority of Republican vot- ers believed illegal voting occurred in Oregon and throughout the country. Secretary of State Shemia Fagan told the Capital Chronicle the results of both surveys showed that she has a lot of work to do to rebuild trust with Oregonians. “Oregon's elections are safe, secure and accessible,” she said. “It's not for any actual failing of the election system that trust has been eroded. It's unfortunate that it's really false information about our See ELECTION, page 6 Baby Veggie Plants! Jewelers Monday – Friday: 10 am To 5 pm Saturday: 10am To 4pm Sunday: Closed 4965 River Rd N - Keizer | ph 503-393-0701 Don’t Forget Diamonds! Lovingly cared for, grown without sprays, now ready for your garden. Once you’ve had home-grown produce, nothing else will seem quite good enough. You’ll also find herbs, and all kinds of flowers and shrubs for a beautiful garden. Open 10 to 5 every day Egan Gardens GREENHOUSE GROWERS (503)393-2131 9805 River Rd NE Salem EganGardens.com