The Oregon Department of Transportation has registered more than 300 foreign nationals to vote in recent years, and while officials are desperate to say these errant registrants won't affect the election, at least two of them have already voted.
Last week, Oregon DMV officials learned that at least 306 foreign nationals had been registered to vote after applying for state driver's licenses. Willamette Week Officials who were initially briefed on the issue later claimed the problem was due to a “data entry issue.” Associated Press The report quoted Kevin Glenn of the state Department of Transportation, which oversees the DMV.
DMV officials have since added steps to the verification process for driver's licenses, but other errant registrants may still be found.
Secretary of State Lavonne Griffin-Valade said Friday that her office will notify all 306 people and tell them they won't receive ballots until they can prove they are eligible to vote.
“While this error is unfortunate, the Secretary and the Department of Elections support automatic voter registration and its many benefits,” her statement continued.
Governor Tina Kotek (D) argued that this discovery was merely evidence that the system was working as designed and that erroneously registered voters would have no impact on the 2024 election.
“A data entry error that may have affected Oregonians' voter registration eligibility was discovered as the Oregon DMV and Secretary of State were conducting due diligence ahead of the 2024 elections,” Kotek said. “My office will continue to closely monitor the situation. This situation does not impact the 2024 elections.”
DMV officials have added additional steps to their driver's license verification process to prevent future improper voter registrations, and have pledged to continue investigating the issue, but it's likely others will be found who are mistakenly registered.
Molly Woon, chair of the Oregon Elections Commission, appeared to try to shield the foreigners from criticism: “These people were registered through no fault of their own,” Woon told The Oregonian/OregonLive. “They've done nothing wrong.”
Nearly a decade ago, the Oregon DMV began automatically registering people applying for or renewing their driver's licenses as voters. At the time, officials argued that these changes would not allow non-citizens to vote in Oregon elections, contrary to state and federal law.
“David House, a spokesman for the Department of Driver and Motor Vehicle Services, said there is no risk that people without proof of citizenship or lawful residence could be registered to vote by obtaining a driver's license,” according to a 2019 article in The Oregonian.Oregon Live.
That same year, state law passed:Proof of legal presence“Despite this, illegal immigrants cannot obtain a driver's license in Oregon. In other words, illegal immigrants could easily obtain a driver's license in Oregon.”
Since then, it has been reported that not only have hundreds of foreigners been mistakenly registered, but that at least two incorrectly registered individuals have voted in 2021 and beyond.
Although officials maintain that the 306 individuals spread across the state are only a small fraction of the state's total electorate, 2024 Oregon Primary Election The decision was made by just a few hundred votes.
The North Plains urban growth boundary was rejected by less than 500 votes, the Molalla River school bond passed by about 115 votes, and Stan Baumhofer defeated Dick Courter for the Republican nomination for the 33rd State House District by just 34 votes.
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