Early ballot return numbers show the rate of return in both Hood River and Wasco counties is well below the pace of the last Presidential election in 2020. Hood River County election officials report that at the end of Tuesday, 1,573 ballots had been returned, 9.37% of those sent out last week. At the same point in 2020 the County had received 3,312 ballots, a return rate of just over 21 percent. The Wasco County Clerk’s Office said it had received 1,361 ballots as of Tuesday, 7.19% of the total distributed. In 2020, the return rate was just over 19 percent, with 3,460 ballots returned.