Bill would bar clerks from using DMV, OHA or SOS updates to change existing registrations

Representative Christine Drazen, sponsor and Vice Chair of the committee, introduced House Bill 3,468 during the committee’s March 12, 2025 meeting. Drazen told the committee the bill "prohibits the County Clerk from using information provided by the Secretary of State, from the Department of Transportation or the Oregon Health Authority to change or update any voter registration information for an elector who is already registered to vote."

Drazen said the measure is intended to ensure voters who are already registered are not inadvertently disenfranchised by automatic updates originating from other state agencies. "This bill ensures that voters are not disenfranchised by errors at the DMV or the Secretary of State's office," she said, and described personal and constituent experiences in which party affiliation or address were changed without a voter’s clear intent. Drazen described one personal example in which she said she received a notice that she could be defaulted to nonaffiliated if she did not return a card within 21 days.

Committee members questioned the mechanics and potential consequences of restricting agency-driven updates. Vice Chair Pham asked how removing the ability to update registrations through DMV interactions could affect the accuracy of registration data. Drazen answered that her intent is not to disable address updates but to ensure a verification or notification process so voters can approve changes: "I think that the integral moment for all of this is at what point...voters themselves can approve or disapprove these changes." She said the change of address to the voter file would still occur, but sponsors want a notification or verification step so voters affirm the change.

Isabella Villarreal, testifying for NextUp Action Fund, a nonprofit focused on youth political engagement, opposed aspects of the bill on practical grounds. Villarreal said many people interacting with the DMV are already registered to vote and that the bill could require eligible voters to take an extra step to update their registration. "The net result could be voter rolls that have less accurate information and making vote by mail ballots much less likely to reach voters," she said, while also noting agreement that reports of party registration changing at the DMV should be thoroughly investigated.

Procedure: the committee opened and closed a public hearing on House Bill 3,468 on March 12, 2025; no committee vote was recorded in the transcript. The sponsor indicated she had met with the Secretary of State’s office and expected a neutral position from that office.

Ending: The bill remains at the public hearing stage; committee discussion centered on balancing voter control over registration changes against maintaining accurate, current voter files.