The Oregon Department of Administrative Services (DAS) commissioned a third-party vendor, Baker Tilly Advisory Group, to conduct an independent audit of the Oregon Motor Voter (OMV) program at the direction of Governor Tina Kotek and Oregon Secretary of State (SOS) last fall. The independent audit was one of many accountability measures initiated in response to the data entry errors discovered in OMV.

The audit found that the steps taken by Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) and SOS to close the gaps in the OMV program were largely effective. ODOT and SOS are acting on additional recommendations from the audit to further support the program.

"I take any error that undermines Oregonians’ confidence in their election system incredibly seriously," Governor Tina Kotek said. "From the moment the errors were caught, I committed to ongoing accountability and continual improvement of the Oregon Motor Voter program. This report underscores the strength of that work."

“This independent audit is one of many things we are doing to lock down and root out errors in the Motor Voter system and earn back Oregonians’ trust. My team is already acting on these recommendations, and I’m glad to hear that what we’ve done so far is effective. We are committed to running fair, secure, accessible elections here in Oregon,” said Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read.

The audit assessed the effectiveness, accuracy and security of the OMV program, focusing on compliance, internal controls and data integrity. The Oregon Driver and Motor Vehicle Services (DMV) division of the ODOT and SOS elections division actively participated in the audit.

The audit concluded that new processes and internal controls at DMV and SOS improved areas where errors were previously identified, although some gaps remain and additional improvements could be made. Those additional improvements are focused on reviewing OMV related rules, manuals and trainings; creating formal processes for tracking and evaluating errors in the system; and conducting more regular oversight of data and error logs.

The findings and recommendations from the audit are intended to enhance the integrity, compliance and operational efficiency of the OMV program, earning public trust and assuring access to a fundamental right through the automatic voter registration process.

For additional information on this audit, visit ODOT Motor Voter Program Audit website.

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