Officials In Oregon Have Revealed That The State’S Department Of Motor Vehicles (Dmv) Erroneously Registered 306 Individuals Without Citizenship As Eligible Voters.

The Oregon Driver and Motor Vehicle Services (DMV) and the Secretary of States office have acknowledged that over 300 non-U.S. citizens were mistakenly registered to vote since 2021.

The Oregon Department of Transportation, responsible for the state’s DMV, stated on September 14th that a data entry issue occurred when individuals who were not citizens applied for driver’s licenses.

An initial analysis conducted by the Oregon Department of Transportation revealed that 306 noncitizens were registered to vote, with two of them casting votes in elections since 2021.

“It’s essentially a data entry problem,” explained Kevin Glenn, a spokesperson for the department, clarifying that DMV workers sometimes incorrectly code individuals as having a U.S. birth certificate or passport when they don’t.

Those impacted by this issue were noncitizens when they were mistakenly registered. They will receive a notification by mail stating that they will not receive a ballot unless they can prove their eligibility to vote. The office mentioned that only two registered voters have a voting history, but their citizenship status at the time of casting ballots is unknown.

Efforts have been made by the office to swiftly update the voter rolls, ensuring that noncitizens are prevented from voting, stated Griffin-Valade.

The secretary added in her statement, “Automatic voter registration has immensely benefited thousands of eligible Oregon voters in order to guarantee access to our democracy. I am confident that the DMV is rectifying this error and improving their processes to prevent future occurrences.”

Oregon’s mistake was partly due to the state’s policy of allowing noncitizens to obtain driver’s licenses, automatically registering most individuals to vote upon obtaining a license or ID, explained Glenn.

Both state and federal laws prohibit non-U.S. citizens from participating in any elections.

Following the revelation of this issue, several state and federal lawmakers in Oregon have called for further investigations.

State Representative Janelle Bynum, a Democrat, urged the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to intervene and investigate the matter.

U.S. House Representative Andrea Salinas (D-Ore.) also demanded an investigation, asserting that the DMV’s actions are indicative of complete malpractice.

“I implore the state to promptly remove these individuals from the voter rolls, conduct a thorough and transparent investigation into the causes, and provide concrete steps taken to rectify the situation and prevent future occurrences,” she stated.

It is important to emphasize that this was a bureaucratic error by the Oregon DMV and not a deliberate attempt by organizations or individuals to subvert the system.

In recent weeks, voter roll purges have been announced in several other states.