After revelations that Oregon’s “motor voter” system registered hundreds of possible noncitizens, the state government launched an audit. Auditors found one in 35 voters didn’t have proof of citizenship — then looked the other way.
Oregon officials discovered in September hundreds of potential noncitizens had registered to vote. They examined limited data and eventually found the motor voter system had placed more than 1,600 possible ineligible voters on the rolls.
State leaders commissioned an audit — which, as Oregon journalist Jeff Eager first reported, found one in 35 voters labeled as “citizens” had no proof of such citizenship in the motor voter system.
The state’s motor voter system reportedly registered 766,756 people total to vote, as of September. The one-in-35 ratio (2.8 percent), applied across the state, suggests the system may have registered more than 21,470 voters without proof of citizenship.
Instead of flagging this lack of documentation as a massive gap in election integrity, the auditor — Chicago firm Baker Tilly — dismissed it, saying this would probably be too small to decide elections.
“Although the number of potentially ineligible individuals being automatically registered to vote is likely too small to affect the outcome of an election, the existence of such cases poses a moderate reputational and compliance risk,” the audit reads.
It simply expressed concern the security gap could “undermine public trust in the voter registration process” and bring “increased scrutiny.”
But, as of November 2024, the Oregon DMV already registered 54,600 voters who have not proven citizenship.
“The thing that got me the most was the consultant opining the error margin likely wouldn’t decide any elections,” Eager said in a direct message on X. He pointed to the state’s May special district elections, in which 25 races were so close they triggered a recount.
The audit, released July 1, noted numerous issues in Oregon’s motor voter system — the lack of citizenship proof was only the first.
Hellbound and Down 