RIGHT SPEAK: Oregon DMV Busted Allowing People Of ‘Unknown Citizenship’ To Register To Vote: 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 DMV Busted Allowing People Of ‘Unknown Citizenship’ To Register To Vote:

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.

The Oregon Department of Motor Vehicles has directed its employees to process the voter registration of those with “unknown citizenship” status, simply requiring that they claim eligibility, The Federalist has learned.

“If you don’t prove that you’re not a U.S. citizen, then you will be asked if you want to self-attest to being a citizen, and they will assist you with registering to vote,” Republican state Rep. Ed Diehl told The Federalist.

Early last month, Democrat Gov. Tina Kotek paused Oregon’s “motor voter” program as the state began a cursory investigation into how the system had registered more than 1,500 potential noncitizens to vote, as The Federalist previously reported.

In response to this discovery, Diehl met with state DMV leaders on Oct. 21. He said the DMV has reverted to only registering voters with a form that relies on attestation to prove citizenship.

“Instead of being optional — a side track basically for voter registration — it’s right now the only way,” Diehl said.

Though the “motor voter” process that Kotek paused allowed more than 1,500 individuals to vote without proof of citizenship, that process theoretically required some level of documentary proof of citizenship, in contrast with the current registration method Diehl described.

Kevin Glenn, communications director for the Oregon Department of Transportation, told The Federalist that the DMV had been using a method in which the DMV would forward the customer’s information to the secretary of state’s office for voter registration if the customer presented “an identity document that proves they are a U.S. citizen.”

“That process is on hold while an external audit of the program is conducted,” Glenn said.

He said that the DMV has adopted a different process “while Oregon Motor Voter has been paused.” He said this process is electronic and claims it is in place to comply with the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, which requires state motor vehicle agencies to register voters.

“If, during a transaction with DMV, a person presents an identity document that does not prove they are a U.S. citizen, but also does not indicate they are not a U.S. citizen (e.g. immigration document, foreign passport), we offer the person the opportunity to register to vote,” Glenn said. “That requires the person certify they are a U.S. citizen.”

Glenn also said residents can “attest they are eligible to vote” by filling out a registration card.

“If done at a DMV office, DMV forwards that card to the Secretary of State or county clerk,” he said.

When it comes to proof of identity, the Oregon voter registration form requires the last four digits of one’s Social Security number, a driver’s license number, or another form of “acceptable identification” like “a utility bill” or “a paycheck stub.” (Social Security numbers may be acquired by noncitizens and are not proof of citizenship.) Voters check boxes to say that they are age 16 or older and a U.S. citizen.

If an individual lies on an attestation, he commits perjury, a “felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $125,000” and a civil offense that carries a penalty of up to $10,000. But enforcement mechanisms, if any, are unclear.

“Unless they demonstrate that they’re not a citizen, yeah, they’ll offer them to vote,” Diehl said of the DMV’s current registration process.

Under this system, the DMV has sent more than 54,600 voter registrations of individuals who have not proven citizenship to Democrat Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade from June 2021 to October 2024, according to documents obtained by The Federalist.