Residents press county on voter registration, mail-ballot security and observation; elections debrief set for work session

Several Washington County residents raised election-security concerns during the Jan. 21 public comment periods, urging the Board of Commissioners to address voter registration practices, vote-by-mail chain-of-custody, observation access and ballot counting methods. The county had scheduled an election debrief work session the same day; county staff said the work session would be open for public attendance but not public comment.

Public comment highlights - Jill Brand (resident) said the county elections office would debrief the board on the Nov. 2024 general election during a work session that members of the public may attend but not speak at; Brand urged the commission to hold the requested public work session that residents have sought for four months and said community data “overwhelmingly demonstrates fundamental problems with Washington County elections.” - Sandra Nelson (resident, 40-year county resident) cited a Secretary of State administrative order (Oct. 23, 2024) listing agencies authorized to register voters and emphasized that under ORS 247.128 a registration card that is legible, accurate and complete must be accepted; Nelson said the Oregon DMV had reported…