Lane County removes ineligible voters after DMV error
Lane County election workers scrambled to remove 11 non-U.S. citizens from Lane County’s active voter roll after they were mistakenly marked eligible to vote by staff at the Oregon Department of Motor Vehicles, according to the Lane County Election’s Office.
On Sept. 13, Oregon Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade ordered updates to 0.01% of voter registrations in Oregon after the DMV ran an internal audit and found that they sent a small number of inaccurate customer records to the Oregon Elections Division. It is unclear as to when the records error occurred.
The Secretary of State’s Office concluded no individual took action to register voters inappropriately.
In Oregon, DMV customers are required to present an identity document when they request a new driver’s license or ID. The error occurred when DMV staff entered information about the type of identity document provided. For example, an error occurred when staff entered “U.S. Passport” when the document was a foreign passport or entered “U.S. Birth Certificate” when the document was a foreign birth certificate.
Devon Ashbridge, spokesperson for Lane County, said in a written press release that LCEO was notified on Sept. 13 that the Oregon DMV marked 11 nonU.S. citizens as eligible to vote in Lane County.
Following an audit of Lane County voters, the elections office confirmed that “none of the 11 mistakenly registered non-citizens returned a ballot in Lane County.”
“While this error is regrettable, the Secretary and the Elections Division stand by automatic voter registration and its many benefits,” the Secretary
of State’s Office said. “The DMV is working around the clock to ensure that any additional records with the error are identified and corrected.”
Ashbridge said all of the non-citizen registrations have been removed from Lane County’s active voter roll and they will no longer receive ballots, including for the upcoming Nov. 5 General Election.
The 11 people who were mistakenly enrolled will be contacted by letter to inform them of the error and will not receive a ballot unless they demonstrate that they are eligible to vote.
If you have evidence that an election law is being violated, including evidence of unlawful voting, it should be reported at sos.oregon.gov/investigation.
To learn more about voting deadlines, Eugenearea candidates running for the Oregon House and other state races, The Register-Guard’s extensive coverage leading up to the 2024 General Election can be found at www.registerguard.com/search/ ?q=elections.