Drazan: Pause DMV auto-voter registration, seek review

Christine Drazan Calls for Pause in Automatic Voter Registration Pending Review
By Christine Drazan,
Former State Representative
Christine for Oregon,

Canby, Ore. – Christine Drazan released the following statement this afternoon following the report the Oregon DMV registered more than 300 non-citizens to vote:

“I have zero confidence that the full extent of the problem has been made public, and even less confidence that our state leaders, starting with Governor Tina Kotek, will take the steps necessary to identify and adequately address the systemic failures that have compromised our voter rolls.”

“I am urging an emergency pause in the automatic registration of voters in Oregon until an independent, nonpartisan auditor verifies that our state’s protocols are sound and sufficiently secure, so that more ineligible individuals do not receive ballots. Any investigation must be independent of the agency, nonpartisan, comprehensive and transparent.”

“Oregonians’ trust in our democracy has been harmed by failures within the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Secretary of State’s office, and those elected officials who so far have refused to fully address this scandal with the urgent attention it deserves.”

“This failure is too important to be swept under the rug. Oregonians deserve to know the full extent of the problem and which elections may have been impacted. The independent audit must identify any additional ballots cast in previous elections by noncitizens to ensure the certified outcomes of these races remain untarnished.”

“I have always been a strong supporter of strengthening and protecting our elections. I believe every person can make a difference. Every vote counts and every legal vote must be counted. I sponsored legislation to ban ballot harvesting, and supported legislation to make every mailbox a ballot box. I’m affirming my commitment to these values in urging state officials to take this immediate action.”