Oregon registers 1.2k voters without proof of citizenship, waited to report error

An error at the Oregon DMV led to more than 1,200 people being registered to vote without proof of U.S. citizenship. Transportation officials first learned of the error on Aug. 1, but election officials were not informed until six weeks later.

The figure of 1,200 is significantly higher than the previously reported number of 300 noncitizens registered on voter rolls. The number of individuals without proof of citizenship has increased to four times that amount.

It remains unclear how many of the 1,200 are noncitizens and how many are citizens lacking proper documentation. All individuals have since been removed from the state’s voter rolls.

Oregon allows noncitizens to obtain driver licenses, and the DMV automatically registers most people to vote when they receive a driver license or identification card. The DMV attributed the issue to “clerical errors on the part of the DMV staff.”

“Election integrity and security is of vital importance to us, and the DMV and the Secretary of State take the issue incredibly seriously,” Kris Strickler, director of the Oregon Department of Transportation told reporters Monday, Sept. 30. “The agencies have continued to implement swift corrective action to ensure that this data processing error will not impact the 2024 election or future elections.”

The state is now asking DMV applicants to provide their state of birth as a safeguard to prevent similar issues in the future, while standing by the DMV’s process of registering voters.

“There are currently three million registered voters in Oregon, so we’re talking about a fraction of a fraction of a percent,” Ben Morris, the secretary of state’s chief of staff told Oregon Public Broadcasting. “Automatic voter registration at the DMV remains the most trusted and secure way for engaging more eligible voters in our democracy.”