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Audit finds limited legacy citizenship-data risks in Oregon—s Motor Voter program; DMV and SOS outline fixes
Summary
A Baker Tilly audit found generally effective controls in Oregon—s Motor Voter program but identified eight findings — the highest risk was legacy citizenship records lacking documentation. DMV and the Secretary of State described corrections, monthly sampling with no new errors, and a rules advisory process to finalize changes by December 2025.
An outside audit of Oregon—s automatic voter registration system found that program controls are generally effective but that legacy citizenship records and several procedural gaps leave room for improvement, the House Interim Committee on Rules heard Sept. 30.
"When a customer comes into the DMV...if the identification they present isn't a birth certificate or passport...their record could still flow through the automatic voter registration process," Baker Tilly auditor Stacey Gill told the committee, summarizing the audit—s highest-risk finding: legacy citizenship indicators carried from older systems that may lack supporting documentation. Gill said auditors reviewed 35 credential transactions and found one citizen designation without supporting records and recommended a documented plan between DMV and the Secretary of State to assess and remediate legacy data.
Amy Joyce, administrator of the DMV at the Oregon Department of Transportation, told the committee DMV staff immediately paused data transfers last year, implemented system changes and intensified staff training, and reviewed roughly 1,400,000 records to determine data accuracy. Joyce said DMV identified and corrected "113 legacy data errors" through customer interactions and found another "170 errors" through automated scrubbing; she also characterized about 36 of the discrepancies as a policy-classification issue involving U.S. nationals (American Samoa) versus U.S. citizens.
"I believe the total number now is 1,840," Joyce said when asked by Representative Draisen about the cumulative number of records previously sent in error; Joyce characterized the remaining rate as "very, very tiny" but said the agency treats any error seriously.
Joyce described near-term and completed actions: codifying the Form 173 DP verification process with plans to digitize verification to eliminate the paper form, formalizing annual OMV training, finalizing a centralized issue escalation protocol and consolidated error log, implementing formal logging and retention for outbound file transfers, creating formal processes for investigating and closing transfer failures, and establishing periodic user access reviews and cleanup of unnecessary roles. She said many recommended items (findings 2, 4 and 5, and IT-related items 6 through 8) have been completed, with a plan addressing legacy records due at the end of the year.
The Secretary of State's office described complementary safeguards: daily reconciliation of records, random monthly file audits and an annual interagency review. Deputy Chief of Staff Ricardo Jalalio and senior policy analyst Carol Moreno said the SOS and ODOT now exchange an automated daily report of file transfers for reconciliation, have set up a centralized failure-tracking log and are convening a Rules Advisory Committee (RAC) to translate audit lessons into revisions to the Oregon Motor Voter administrative rules.
Jalalio said RAC launched in September, with draft rule revisions expected in December 2025 to begin a public comment period and potential final rule adoption targeted for January 2026. Both agencies told the committee they have been sampling new transactions monthly and reported no new errors in those samples for 11 months.
Committee members pressed whether DMV can remove citizenship indicators for legacy records. Joyce said statutory constraints limit DMV—s authority to request reverification for records that were previously accepted; she warned that extensive retroactive removal risks disenfranchising people and said any changes that affect voter rolls must be coordinated with the Secretary of State.
The agencies and the auditors agreed on next steps: finalize a written plan to address legacy records by year-end, continue monthly sampling and public reporting, and complete RAC rulemaking and associated policy changes early next year.
What happens next: DMV said it will deliver the legacy-data plan by the end of the year; the RAC is scheduled to issue draft administrative-rule revisions in December 2025 and aims to adopt final rules in January 2026 if the process remains on schedule.
