More than 300 illegal immigrants were added to the state of Oregon’s vote rolls over the last three years, violating state and federal laws that prohibit undocumented citizens from voting in local or national elections.
The Oregon DMV recently admitted that 306 non-citizens have been mistakenly registered to vote since 2021 caused by an error in the state’s 2019 decision to allow undocumented residents to obtain driver’s licenses. The DMV automatically registers most people to vote when they obtain a license or state-issued ID. State officials said the number of illegal immigrants registered to vote may grow in the coming days.
However, Kevin Glenn, spokesperson for the Oregon Department of Transportation, insisted that only two undocumented individuals have voted.
Meanwhile, Amy Joyce, DMV Administrator, said the state has adopted a third screening in addition to its two-step process for verifying that individuals have a U.S. passport or birth certificate in an attempt to stop illegal immigrants from being registered to vote.
Election officials said they would look into whether the individuals had become U.S. citizens before they voted, stressing that it would not impact November’s presidential election. Officials also explained that undocumented citizens who were registered to vote would be notified that they would be required to submit proof of citizenship before being mailed a ballot next month.
“The Secretary of State’s Office was made aware of the issue late on September 12 and acted within 24 hours,” a press release from the Secretary of State’s office read. “Residents impacted by this issue were non-citizens at the time they were erroneously registered. They will be notified by mail that they will not receive a ballot unless they demonstrate that they are eligible to vote.”
In 2019, Driver and Motor Vehicle Services spokesperson David House claimed there was no way people without proof of citizenship or legal residency would be registered to vote by just obtaining a driver’s license.
The issue of illegal immigrants voting in elections has been a political hot-button topic this year. Former President Donald Trump threatened to prosecute election officials who “cheat in the 2024 Presidential Election.”
The 45th president vowed that if elected, they “will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law, which will include long-term prison sentences[.]”
A recent Scripps News/Ipsos poll found that a majority (51 percent) were concerned about “non-citizens voting illegally” in November’s election. Only 18 percent were “not very concerned.”