Oregon Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade is directing further action to inactivate voter registrations and calling for an independent audit after learning of addition errors from the Oregon Driver & Motor Vehicle Services Division (DMV).

Today, the DMV released its After Action Report, which identified additional errors in its processes that resulted in 302 individuals being registered to vote who did not provide proof of their eligibility. In response, Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade directed county elections officials to inactivate all 302 voter registrations.

Secretary Griffin-Valade also joined Governor Tina Kotek in calling for an independent, external audit of the Motor Votor system.

“Thanks to the swift action of elections officials, I have full confidence that these new errors will not impact the 2024 election,” said Secretary Griffin-Valade. “The DMV’s After Action Report raises serious concerns about this important part of our voter registration system. The first step in restoring the public’s trust in Motor Voter is a transparent review by a neutral third party operating under strict government auditing standards.”

Additionally, Secretary Griffin-Valade instructed the Oregon Elections Division to take the following steps to increase its oversight of the Motor Voter system:

• Immediately hire a new Motor Voter oversight position within the Oregon Elections Division to ensure automatic voter registration policies and procedures are reviewed, updated and followed by partner agencies.
• Establish a documented process with the DMV to perform regular data checks and review processes in coordination with Elections Division staff.
• Update the administrative rules governing the Motor Voter system, using information from the DMV’s comprehensive After Action Report, to ensure the process changes needed to correct these errors carry the force of law.

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Secretary of State Corrective Action to Protect the 2024 Election

The Secretary of State Elections Division will take the following steps to protect the integrity of the 2024 election, after additional errors at the DMV resulted in 302 individuals being registered to vote who did not provide proof of their eligibility.

• Direct county clerks to inactivate all 302 voter registrations and issue “due process” letters providing them with the opportunity to reregister if they can confirm their eligibility.
• Flag all 302 individuals in the election management system, providing a second layer of security to ensure any ballots returned from this group are not counted without first verifying eligibility.

These steps will ensure the error does not impact in the 2024 election.

Will this registration error impact on the 2024 election?

No. The Secretary has ordered county clerks to take the appropriate corrective action to ensure this will have no impact on the 2024 election.

Do we know these individuals’ citizenship status?

No. We simply know that they did not present the necessary documentation supporting their eligibility when they interacted with the DMV.

Did any of these individuals vote? And if so, what will be done with them?

The Oregon Elections Division will work with the 36 county election officers to determine if
there are any individuals with a vote history and follow the same process used with the
previous data sent over by the DMV in September.

Will these individuals receive ballots in this upcoming election?

We are doing everything we can to prevent that, but at this point we cannot guarantee that all 302 ballots will be removed before they are mailed. For that reason, the Secretary’s instructions also include a process that will ensure these ballots are not opened or counted unless there is evidence they were cast by an eligible Oregon voter.

Counties will be instructed to flag these ballots in the election management system. If any ballots are returned, they will be removed from the vote tallying process. The voter will be given an opportunity to demonstrate that they are eligible, but if that doesn’t happen the votes will not be counted.

Will these individuals be given the opportunity to register to vote if they are eligible?

Yes. The Oregon Elections Division will send a letter to all 302 individuals giving them an opportunity to register to vote if they can provide documentation that they are eligible.

Will these individuals get a “no fault” letter?

Yes. The individuals who were accidentally registered and do not have a voting history will receive a no fault letter.