Oregon’s Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade is defending the state’s voter registration system despite registering over 1,200 possible noncitizens to vote. While Griffin-Valade insists noncitizen voting is “exceedingly rare,” the discovery of 1,259 noncitizens being registered casts doubt on this claim.
The situation came to light earlier this month when Griffin-Valade’s office found that more than 300 noncitizens had been registered through the state’s “motor voter” system. The issue worsened upon further investigation, which revealed that a total of 1,259 potential noncitizens had been added to the voter rolls, with nine of them already having voted in elections.
Oregon’s automatic voter registration system, known as “motor voter,” registers individuals when they apply for or renew their driver’s licenses at the DMV. However, errors in processing documents such as foreign passports led to noncitizens being mistakenly registered.
Despite these mistakes, Griffin-Valade maintains that noncitizen voting is rare, both in Oregon and across the country. Her office inactivated the erroneous registrations, ensuring these individuals will not receive ballots for the 2024 election. They will have the opportunity to re-register with proper documentation.
This revelation has sparked debate about the reliability of automatic voter registration and the need for stronger safeguards to prevent noncitizens from being included in the voting process. Critics argue that this case proves noncitizen voting may be more widespread than previously admitted.
