The Oregon agency that issues driver’s licenses erroneously registered more than 300 noncitizens to vote, though state officials say only two people actually cast ballots.
State Elections Director Molly Woon told the Capital Chronicle that she received a call late Thursday afternoon from the administrator of the Driver and Motor Vehicle Services division of the Oregon Department of Transportation, telling her that DMV staff caught a data entry error that led to the division wrongly classifying some noncitizens as citizens. State election officials spent Friday, Sept. 13, reviewing that information and working with county clerks to ensure those people won’t receive ballots unless and until they prove they’re eligible to vote.
The error is not large enough to impact the outcome of the state’s elections —more than 3 million people are registered to vote in Oregon, and the 306 cases identified by state officials are 0.01% of the state’s voters.
Ben Morris, chief of staff to Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade, said the DMV is continuing to investigate whether there are any more issues, and there is time to rectify any additional mistakes. Ballots won’t be mailed to voters for another month.