Oregon Public Broadcasting

Oregon’s first statewide recount in eight years has produced the same result as the original tally.

The margin of victory for Measure 53 was so small it triggered an automatic recount.

New results announced Friday show it passing with a slightly larger cushion than the first time.

The measure amends the Oregon Constitution to give law enforcement more power to confiscate property relating to criminal activity.

Supporter Rob Bovett is with the Oregon Narcotics Enforcement Association.

Rob Bovett:  “It was a close call.  I fear that it may have got lost in the shuffle.  Not a whole lot of attention was paid to it but it did pass so we can move forward and make sure that criminals don’t keep their ill-gotten gains.”

Despite the wider margin of victory, it’s still among the closest statewide votes in Oregon history.  The difference was just 681 votes out of nearly a million cast.

Official Measure 53 results (pdf)