SALEM, Ore. — The future of Oregon’s automatic voter registration program is up for public debate. State elections officials held a hearing Tuesday morning in Salem on a set of proposed rule changes to the state’s “Motor Voter” system, which automatically registers eligible voters when they visit the DMV.
“Accuracy, security, and rigor are the foundation of a trustworthy voter registration system,” Secretary of State Tobias Read said in a statement. “Shaped by key input from our advisory committee, these safeguards strengthen that foundation and raise the bar for Oregon Motor Voter. Now, we’re asking Oregonians to weigh in on the proposed rules, so we can work together to build a system that serves every voter fairly and reliably.”
The proposed overhaul was developed by a Rules Advisory Committee that Read’s office convened in September to recommend changes to address the results of a recent independent audit that called for changes and clearer safeguards following the discovery in 2024 that hundreds of ineligible people were mistakenly registered to vote — and a few of them actually voted…