Oregon Governor Tina Kotek has ordered a pause and an independent audit of the automatic voter registration system following a rise in the number of noncitizens mistakenly registered to vote. The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has been instructed to stop transmitting Oregon Motor Voter data to the secretary of state after it was discovered that an additional 302 noncitizens were improperly registered to vote under the state’s motor voter law.
The DMV can automatically register residents to vote when they obtain a driver’s license or state ID, provided they show proof of citizenship. Last month, it was revealed that 1,259 noncitizens had been registered to vote without providing proper documentation.
Governor Kotek has requested the DMV to produce an after-action report, which identified the additional 302 noncitizens who were improperly registered. These registrations have been referred to Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade for deactivation.
The DMV explained that a technical error failed to identify these registrations during the initial investigation, but the 1,259 individuals previously identified have already been deactivated. Kotek and Griffin-Valade have called for an independent external audit of the motor voter program to address any errors that may undermine the voting system.
The DMV has expressed regret for the oversight and is committed to learning from the incident and taking corrective actions. Griffin-Valade has ordered her office’s elections division to create a new motor voter oversight position and establish a process for regular data checks with the DMV.
House Republican Leader Jeff Helfrich believes that there is a systemic issue with Oregon’s automatic voter registration system and has called for the removal of all ineligible voters from the rolls before the upcoming election. He also advocates for an investigation into possible violations of the law. Please provide me with a rewritten sentence or phrase to assist you with.
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