The Oregon DMV admitted on Friday that it had fraudulently registered at least 306 foreign nationals to vote in U.S. elections.
The DMV said the fraudulent registrations have occurred since 2021 and are the result of a program that automatically registers anyone who gets a driver's license or state ID, and state officials said they expect to find more fraudulent registrations ahead of Election Day.
Oregon has allowed non-citizens to obtain diving licenses since 2019. Of the 306 people identified, only two have voted in elections since 2021.
Oregon Secretary of State Lavonne Griffin Valade said 306 people would be “notified by mail that they will not receive a ballot unless they certify that they are eligible to vote.”
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The state of Oregon claims it has improperly registered hundreds of foreign nationals to vote in U.S. elections since 2021.
Gov. Griffin Valade defended the state's automatic voter registration system despite the expiration, and Gov. Tina Kotek also argued that the discovery “will not impact” the 2024 election.
“While this error is unfortunate, the Secretary and the Department of Elections support automatic voter registration and its many benefits,” Griffin Valade said.
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“The data entry error that may have affected Oregonians' voter registration eligibility was discovered as the Oregon DMV and Secretary of State's Office were conducting due diligence ahead of the 2024 elections,” Kotek said in a separate statement. “My office will continue to closely monitor the situation. This situation will not have any impact on the 2024 elections.”
Governor Tina Kotek defended the state's automatic voter registration system, even though it allows hundreds of foreign nationals to vote. (Getty Images)
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, who has led the effort to eradicate illegal voter registration in Ohio throughout the year, told Fox News Digital that so-called automatic voter registration is a problem across the country.
“That's why we've been opposed to what's called automatic voter registration in Ohio. We have multiple ways in Ohio that are very convenient to register, but there are some people, like non-citizens, that shouldn't be registered and there are some people that just don't want to be registered,” LaRose said.
LaRose also highlighted the hurdles state officials face when verifying voter rolls: Ohio first checks data from the DMV, but often can't determine someone's status, LaRose said.
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose led the effort to purge foreigners from the state's voter rolls. (Getty Images)
The second check is the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database, a list of alien data maintained by the Department of Homeland Security, but states must pay $1.50 per query of the database, and finding the information needed to properly search the data can be tedious, LaRose said.
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LaRose added that he and other election officials have sought access to more Department of Homeland Security data to allow for more accurate audits of voter rolls, but so far the requests have been denied.
“I don't normally second guess people's intentions, but it appears they don't want that information to be used to identify foreign nationals,” LaRose told Fox.
