The Oregon Department of Motor Vehicle Services registered more than 300 noncitizens to vote in recent years, and while officials have scrambled to insist that these erroneous registrants won't impact elections, at least two of them have already cast ballots.
Last week, Oregon DMV officials learned that at least 306 noncitizens had been registered to vote after they applied for a state driver's license, Willamette Week first reported. These officials have since blamed the problem on a "data entry issue," the AP reported, citing Kevin Glenn of the state Department of Transportation, which oversees the DMV.
DMV officials have since added a step to the verification process in acquiring a driver's license ... but do expect to find other incorrect registrants.
Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade said on Friday that her office would notify each of the 306 individuals and inform them that they will not receive a ballot unless and until they can furnish proof that they are eligible to vote.
"While this error is regrettable, the secretary and the Elections Division stand by automatic voter registration and its many benefits," her statement continued.
Gov. Tina Kotek (D) claimed that the discovery is just proof that the system is working as designed and that the wrongfully registered voters will have no bearing on the 2024 election.
"The error in data entry which may have affected the voter eligibility of some Oregonian’s voter registration was discovered because the Oregon DMV and the secretary of state were doing their due diligence ahead of the 2024 election," Kotek said. "My office will continue to closely monitor the situation. This situation will not impact the 2024 election in any way."
DMV officials have since added a step to the verification process in acquiring a driver's license to prevent other such inappropriate voter registrations in future. They also promised to continue investigating the problem but do expect to find other incorrect registrants.
Oregon Elections Director Molly Woon appeared eager to shield the noncitizens from blame. "These folks were registered by no fault of their own," she told the Oregonian/OregonLive. "They didn’t do anything wrong."
Almost a decade ago, the Oregon DMV began automatically registering people to vote when they applied for or tried to renew a driver's license. At the time, officials insisted that these changes would not result in noncitizens voting in Oregon elections in defiance of state and federal law.
"Driver and Motor Vehicle Services spokesperson David House said there is no risk people without proof of citizenship or legal residency will get registered to vote by obtaining a driver’s license," read a 2019 article from the Oregonian/OregonLive.
That same year, state law began permitting people who have no "proof of legal presence" in the state to obtain a driver's license nevertheless. In other words, illegal aliens may easily obtain a driver's license in Oregon.
Not only have hundreds of noncitizens since been incorrectly registered, but at least two of the errant registrants have reportedly cast a ballot since 2021.
While officials have insisted that 306 individuals spread across the state represent just a tiny fraction of the overall state electorate, several races and ballot referenda in the 2024 Oregon primary election were decided by just a few hundred votes or less.
The North Plains urban growth boundary was rejected by fewer than 500 votes, the Molalla River school bond passed by about 115 votes, and Stan Baumhofer defeated Dick Courter for the Republican nomination for the state House District 33 race by just 34 votes.
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A disturbing video captured a group of rowdy teenagers viciously attacking and forcing a woman off a D.C. Metrobus on Monday around 4 p.m.
The victim, Kyla Thurston, 42, told WTTG she is hopeful that Metro officials will find a way to protect passengers so a similar incident does not happen to anyone else.
"I wouldn't want, you know, no one else to have to go through this – it's emotional just thinking about it," Thurston said.
Thurston reflected on the events that led up to the incident on Monday. According to Thurston, several boisterous teenagers were cursing on the bus in front of young children, so she asked the teens to stop using inappropriate language.
She told WJLA, "The only thing I said was, 'Can y'all stop the abusive language?'"
"At that point, the kids became unruly. They started being disrespectful, like saying things to me," Thurston said. "Then next thing you know, there were objects being thrown at me, and I was just like, 'Thank You, Lord,' because throughout the whole incident, the only thing I could recall was the kids hitting me and kicking me – and I had no defense."
Thurston claimed she asked the driver multiple times to stop the bus so she could get off, but the bus continued moving. She said the driver did not attempt to stop or alert authorities.
The victim stated that the vehicle eventually stopped at another bus stop location. Thurston claimed that the teens kicked and pushed her off the bus.
"I held on as much as I could from them hitting me and kicking me and scratching me and they were just -- I got bruises and everything on my arm," she said.
Another passenger on the bus stated that the attackers threw bottles at Thurston and attempted to choke her.
As a result of the attack, Thurston's jacket was ripped and she suffered neck pain and bruising on her arms.
"Watching the video myself personally, it startled me – and I'm still startled about it," she said. "I didn't want to come forth at first – but I don't fear nobody but the Lord."
Metro Transit Police stated that the video was "disturbing and unacceptable" and noted that there would be an investigation into the incident.
Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser also reacted to the video, even though she had not seen it.
"That is not any type of crime that we want to see in our city at any time," Bowser said. "Part of what we're talking about today is making sure we have the police force that we need to respond and patrol and assist Metro and its properties, including the bus and including the train stations."
\u201cFULL VIDEO: This is the full video of what took place on a metro bus in Washington D.C yesterday that involved teens trying to remove a woman from a metro bus seen here.\u201d— Dmv Blossom \ud83c\udf38 (@Dmv Blossom \ud83c\udf38) 1666215754
Under this system, the Oregon DMV has processed more than 54,600 voter registrations for individuals who have not proven citizenship, according to documents obtained by The Federalist.
Oregon's Secretary of State discovered the 'motor voter' system automatically registered more than 1,200 likely noncitizens to vote.
Federal law requires states to ask people to certify their citizenship and eligibility before registering them to vote, and it is a federal crime to knowingly lie about one’s noncitizen status to register to vote in federal, state, or local elections.
Biden's extension of 'temporary protected status' to aliens who crossed the border illegally opens the door for them to obtain 'REAL IDs.'
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