Editing Multnomah County, Oregon (section)

===Since 2000===
In the [[2000 United States presidential election|2000 presidential election]], Multnomah county played a decisive role in determining the winner of the state's [[U.S. Electoral College#Electoral votes|electoral votes]]. [[Al Gore]] carried the county by 104,764 votes, enough to offset the 97,999 vote advantage that [[George W. Bush]] had earned among Oregon's 35 other counties.<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 7, 2000 |title=Official Results November 7, 2000 General Election |url=http://records.sos.state.or.us/ORSOSWebDrawer/RecordView/6920724 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230418203521/http://records.sos.state.or.us/ORSOSWebDrawer/Record/6920724/File/document |archive-date=April 18, 2023 |access-date=August 8, 2023 |publisher=Oregon Secretary of State |quote=Note: The archive URL is a direct download of the full PDF displayed in the main link. The archive.org link for the main link could not be used as it only displays page 1, while the cited info is on page 2.}}</ref> The Democratic tilt was repeated in 2004, when John Kerry won by 161,146 votes,<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 2, 2004 |title=Official Results {{!}} November 4, 2004, General Election |url=http://records.sos.state.or.us/ORSOSWebDrawer/RecordView/6873503 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230808081610/http://records.sos.state.or.us/ORSOSWebDrawer/RecordView/6873503 |archive-date=August 8, 2023 |access-date=August 8, 2023 |publisher=Oregon Secretary of State}}</ref> and in 2008, when Barack Obama won by 204,525 votes.<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 4, 2008 |title=Official Results {{!}} November 4, 2008, General Election |url=http://records.sos.state.or.us/ORSOSWebDrawer/RecordView/6873598 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604113053/http://records.sos.state.or.us/ORSOSWebDrawer/RecordView/6873598 |archive-date=June 4, 2023 |access-date=August 8, 2023 |publisher=Oregon Secretary of State}}</ref>

In February 2001, the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners unanimously accepted the recommendation of the [[Multnomah County Library|Library Advisory Board]] and authorized the library to enter into a lawsuit to stop the [[Children's Internet Protection Act]].<ref name="multcolib"/>  The [[United States Supreme Court|US Supreme Court]] ultimately decided in 2003 that the law was constitutional in [[United States v. American Library Association|US v. ALA]]. However, the library chose to turn down $104,000 per year of federal funding under CIPA to be able to continue to offer unfiltered Internet access.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Mitchell |first=Renee S. |date=May 5, 2004 |title=Once again, policy did not involve public |work=[[The Oregonian]]}}</ref><ref name="multcolib">{{Cite web |date=December 23, 2009 |title=Children's Internet Protection Act; Questions and Answers |url=http://www.multcolib.org/news/cipa.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608211545/http://www.multcolib.org/news/cipa.html |archive-date=June 8, 2011 |access-date=March 28, 2010 |publisher=[[Multnomah County Library]]}}</ref>

Faced with decreasing government revenues due to a recession in the local economy, voters approved a three-year local income tax (Measure 26–48) <ref>{{Cite web |date=April 6, 2011 |title=May 2003 Special Election - Multnomah County - Measure No. 26-48 |url=http://web.multco.us/elections/may-2003-special-election-multnomah-county-measure-no-26-48 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120910100753/http://web.multco.us/elections/may-2003-special-election-multnomah-county-measure-no-26-48 |archive-date=September 10, 2012 |access-date=May 22, 2013 |publisher=Multnomah County Elections}}</ref> on May 20, 2003, to prevent further cuts in schools, police protection, and social services.<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 22, 2011 |title=May 20, 2003 - Election Results |url=http://web.multco.us/elections/may-20-2003-election-results |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230806222623/https://www.multco.us/elections/may-20-2003-election-results |archive-date=August 6, 2023 |access-date=May 22, 2013 |publisher=Multnomah County Elections}}</ref> 

After that, though, Linn and the three commissioners developed a public feud, with the latter becoming known as the "mean girls".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kelly House |date=November 4, 2013 |title=Former Multnomah County Chair Diane Linn returns to Portland with nonprofit job |url=http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2013/11/post_378.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010125809/http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2013/11/post_378.html |archive-date=October 10, 2017 |access-date=January 17, 2017 |work=[[The Oregonian]]}}</ref>  The county government has also faced significant budget issues, including not being able to open the [[Wapato Corrections Facility]] since it was built in 2003.