DMV error led to nine ineligible voters ahead of 2024 election: Oregon Secretary of State

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – A review of records with the Oregon DMV has revealed that there were nine potentially ineligible voters who were not properly registered ahead of the 2024 election, according to the Oregon Secretary of State.

The review found that these nine voters “were improperly registered without proving citizenship due to a data processing error at Oregon DMV” and had a voting history. Additionally, one more person was registered incorrectly but was still an eligible vote.

According to the DMV, this issue was the result of an error in their automatic voter registration system impacting 1,259 people. So far, 766,756 people have registered with the Oregon DMV, meaning the error accounted for roughly .0016% of voters.

In response, the Secretary of State has ordered for these registrations to be inactivated due to the same error. These people will not get a ballot for Election Day on Nov. 5, but “will be given the opportunity to re-register if eligible” before the deadline on Oct. 15.

“Because of this quick response, I can assure Oregonians that the 2024 General Election will not be affected by this error in any way,” Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade said. “Noncitizen voting remains exceedingly rare in Oregon and around the country. We can continue to be proud that automatic voter registration is just one of the ways we ensure eligible Oregonians have the opportunity to exercise their right to vote.”

Voters are required to show proof of citizenship at the time of their registration. According to the DMV, errors may have occurred by accident. For instance, the DMV said a staff member may have unintentionally selected “U.S. Passport” when looking at a foreign passport, or a “U.S. birth certificate” for a foreign certificate. 

“We identified a rare but important anomaly that we have now corrected,” DMV Administrator Amy Joyce said. “We regret this situation occurred, but we are relieved that our swift action allowed DMV and the Secretary of State to correct the issue before the coming election. We are committed to strengthening the accessibility and reliability of our elections.”

However, the Secretary of State’s Office said the fact that these nine registered voters were not U.S. citizens at the time of this review does not mean they had not been U.S. citizens when they voted. Rather, the office clarified they were “incorrectly identified by DMV as eligible for voter registration.”

Since the error was discovered, the DMV has created changes to their registration guidelines, including the requirement for a specific state to be listed when selecting that a person has provided proof of citizenship.

"While any error needs to be taken seriously -- and we are taking this very seriously -- we can take some comfort in the fact that the system is generally working correctly," said Ben Morris with the Secretary of State's office.

Additionally, Gov. Tina Kotek responded to news of the error with a list of "proactive steps" such as staff training, a data integrity review, and a "quality control" calendar ahead of Election Day.

“The integrity of election systems is the cornerstone of a functioning democracy, and any error that can undermine our voting system must be taken seriously and addressed immediately,” Gov. Kotek said. “Following round-the-clock corrective action on the part of Oregon DMV to address the known errors and ensure they will not impact the 2024 general election, I am now directing the agency to go above and beyond to ensure errors like this will not happen again.”

State Republican leaders aren't happy with how things are being handled.

Senate Republican Leader Daniel Bonham said these efforts are not enough, and encouraged the governor to demand an audit of all voter registrations.

“The only reason we know about the DMV registering 1,259 non-citizens to vote is because a national think tank started asking questions," Bonham said. "This tells me that there’s probably much larger, systematic issues at play. For Gov. Kotek to suggest that this is the only necessary action to clean up our voter rolls suggests that she’s more focused on managing appearances than solving real problems.”

Former state representative Christine Drazan, who ran for governor in 2022, called for a pause on automatic voter registration in the state. House GOP Leader Jeff Helfrich is also sounding the alarm.

"Every vote matters," Helfrich told KOIN 6 News. "If somebody votes that's not eligible to vote and pushes one candidate over that shouldn't have gotten there, that's a problem."

Helfrich wants a more extensive investigation done.

"We want to have questions be asked and answered," he said.

Stay with KOIN 6 News as this story develops.