In Salem, Oregon, the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has restarted its automatic voter registration program. This follows a pause instituted in the previous autumn after errors led to the registration of nearly 1,600 individuals who hadn’t provided proof of U.S. citizenship.
The decision to halt registrations was made by Governor Tina Kotek in October. The primary cause of the improper registrations was Oregon’s policy that allows non-citizens to procure driver’s licenses. Consequently, under the state’s “Motor Voter” law, many of these individuals were automatically registered to vote when they applied for a new license or ID.
Upon reviewing the incidents, the Secretary of State’s office determined that only 17 of the nearly 1,600 individuals erroneously registered actually voted in an election. The office’s website indicates that its elections division has concluded investigations for eight of these cases, while six are actively being investigated. In addition, three have been forwarded to the Oregon Department of Justice for further inquiry.
In an announcement on Wednesday, the DMV revealed new measures to enhance voter registration controls. These include hiring a “voter registration integrity analyst,” altering the computer interface for staff handling identification documents, and requiring managerial review of file accuracy before sending registration information to the Secretary of State each day.
The Secretary of State’s office, in its own Wednesday release, detailed steps it has taken to avert such errors in the future. It commits to conducting monthly random checks of automatic voter registration files, verifying them with the DMV, and confirming the daily submission count of Motor Voter files sent by the DMV.
Secretary of State Tobias Read emphasized the importance of safeguarding election integrity, asserting, “I will continue to dig into the system and take action whenever I can to strengthen our voter rolls and prevent future mistakes. Our highest priority is — and must always be — protecting the integrity of Oregonians’ fair, secure, and accessible elections.”
The Oregon Department of Transportation enlisted Deloitte for an independent assessment. The consultancy’s final report affirmed that the revised processes instill confidence in the data’s integrity being upheld.
Despite these reforms, concerns remain among Republican lawmakers. State Senator Daniel Bonham, leader of the GOP minority, expressed doubts, stating, “a patchwork of fixes won’t be enough to fully restore confidence.”
Since the implementation of these controls in October, there have been no new erroneous registrations under the Motor Voter program, as confirmed by the DMV. The department announced it will continue its monthly sampling of Oregon Motor Voter data through the year 2025.
Oregon DMV restarts auto voter sign-ups post-registration errors
