Secretary of State seven year error forces GOP candidate to withdraw

[Jeff Duyck for House Press Release]
Serious Election Blunder by Secretary of State and Washington County Clerk forces Jeff Duyck to Withdraw as Oregon House Candidate

Seven-Year Error Found After Elections Officials Certify Duyck’s Nomination

Forest Grove, Or. — For seven years Washington County Elections, using data from the Secretary of State’s office, has listed Jeff Duyck as a resident of House District 29. For seven years, Washington County Elections has sent Duyck official ballots for House District 29 and he voted as a resident of that district. When Duyck filed to run for office earlier this year and listed his address, Washington County Elections qualified him to run in HD-29. Finally in June, after the Primary Election, Washington County Elections certified his nomination as the Republican candidate in HD-29.
After months of hard work, significant community support and thousands of dollars raised, Washington County Elections is now essentially saying “Whoops! Sorry, you can’t run.”
“This is a serious mistake, and it shouldn’t be taken lightly,” said Duyck. “My family has lived in this area for three generations, and this was my opportunity to give back. The chance to serve my friends and neighbors has been taken away from me. ”

As recently as June 26, 2008, a call placed to the Washington County Elections still verified that their records listed Duyck as a resident of HD-29. Additionally, the State’s “Find Your Legislator” function on the Legislative website also returned notice that Duyck was a resident of HD-29.

“This is an egregious error,” said House Republican Leader Bruce Hanna. “Jeff Duyck and his supporters trusted the County and the State and that trust was violated. What more could Jeff have done? He checked his residency with the County, with the State and through the Legislature’s ‘Find You Legislator’ search. Perhaps most troubling, he was qualified by the Secretary of State to run and then his Primary victory was recently certified by that office as well. The residents of District 29 are the real victims in this situation; they no longer have the opportunity to send Jeff Duyck to Salem on their behalf.”

Jeff Duyck is reviewing all his options and will keep both his supporters and the media up to date.

Background: Duyck is a former farmer and former owner of Dutch Country Mercantile and Pacific Harvest Supply. Duyck is a long time member of the Forest Grove Chamber, the Corneilus Chamber (past president) and the Forest Grove Rotary. He grew up attending Forest Gove schools and has sent his own children through the same.
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Shawn Swearingen, Campaign Manager (Cell) 503-779-7936