Non-Citizen Voter Registration: How We Got There

-by Jerry Ritter

The current issue of non-citizens being registered to vote in Oregon has a history that goes back to 2008. It was in that year that the Oregon Legislature passed Senate Bill 1080.

SB 1080 was grudgingly passed in response to the Federal Real ID Act. The new law required proof of citizenship to obtain an Oregon driver’s license. Immigrant support groups and their allies began seeking ways around the requirement. Then-Governor John Kitzhaber aligned himself with these efforts.

Fast forward to 2012, when a secretive governor’s panel hatched a plan to circumvent the citizenship requirement. State officials initially denied the very existence of the group and later refused to provide details of its schedules and meeting minutes. The result was SB 833 which restored driving rights for undocumented immigrants.

The Democratic leadership in the 2013 legislative session partially bypassed the normal public hearing process and rammed SB 833 through the legislature. Kitzhaber symbolically signed it into law on May 5 – Cinco de Mayo – 2013. The bill was sold to the public as a “safety” measure. Its true purpose was to appease immigrant advocacy groups – key Democrat constituencies – and certain business interests that rely on immigrant labor.

The secretive nature of these events prompted widespread anger around the state. That made it easy for opponents, led by Oregonians for Immigration Reform, to collect more than enough signatures to force a veto referendum. That’s when the unprecedented dirty politics really ramped up.

The Oregon Supreme Court (Strauss et al. vs. Rosenblum) had approved the original ballot title of the referendum as written by the Secretary of State: “Provides Oregon resident ‘driver card’ without requiring proof of legal residence in the United States.” The sponsors, of course, hoped that Oregon voters would reject the proposal, thus vetoing SB 833.

Faced with the growing possibility of an embarrassing rebuff in the November 2014 election, House Democrats, joined by 3 Republicans, did an 11th hour political maneuver called a “Gut & Stuff.”

They stripped the original language of House Bill 4054 and inserted new wording to change the ballot title: “Establishes limited purpose, duration driver card for individuals who prove Oregon residency, meet driving requirements.” In a final act of arrogance, a bogus “emergency” clause was added to prevent any citizen challenge of the legislation.

Gone was the reference to “legal residence in the United States” which would have defeated the entire purpose of the referendum.

Editorial boards across the state slammed the maneuver. Never before had the legislature tried to change the ballot title of a citizen referendum. Since at least some voters cast their ballots based on the ballot title, the wording is critical.

Despite the uproar, HB 4054 sailed through the Democrat-led House. Smarter heads prevailed in the Senate where the bill died the death it so deserved.

The citizens’ veto referendum of SB 833 became Ballot Measure 88 in the November 2014 election. By a 2-to-1 majority, Oregon voters emphatically rejected SB 833. The measure failed in all congressional districts and in all counties except deep blue Multnomah.

Two Years later in 2016, Oregon’s “Motor Voter” law was passed whereby an applicant for a state driver’s license is automatically registered to vote. In response to public concern, state officials issued assurances that the process would be secure and that only eligible voters would be registered to vote.

Fast forward again to 2019 when the Democrat supermajority in the legislature and Governor Kate Brown enacted House Bill 2015, complete with another bogus “emergency” clause. HB 2015 revoked the Measure 88 veto and restored driving privileges to undocumented immigrants.

And here we are in 2024 where the number of improperly-registered voters is growing every week. This is exactly what backers of Measure 88 said would happen after HB 2015 was passed.

While the impact thus far has reportedly been minimal, state officials aren’t certain about the scope of the problem. Governor Kotek has wisely paused “Motor Voter” registrations. However, these revelations have undermined faith in the integrity of the upcoming November elections.

The root of the issue is Oregon’s one party rule where Democrats can disregard voter decisions they don’t like and get away with it. The remedy will be on your November ballot.

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Jerry Ritter of Springfield is a former legislative affairs representative for a statewide non-profit group and was part of the team that put Measure 88 on the ballot.

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