During both public comment periods on Dec. 16, several residents reported problems with elections procedures and urged the county to seek changes.

Roger W. Law summarized the Baker Tilly audit of the Oregon Motor Voter system and said the audit found remaining risk areas related to noncitizen registration. He encouraged public review of the RAC (Rules Advisory Committee) videotaped sessions and invited public comment during the Secretary of State’s rulemaking opportunity through a virtual hearing on Jan. 6, 2026 and a written comment deadline of Jan. 13, 2026.

Jill Latray said she observed adjudication during Washington County’s November election where defective ballots with timing-mark errors required manual adjudication; she said observers were denied full visibility of original ballots during adjudication and that an offered post-certification viewing was later revoked. Latray asked that observers be allowed to view all ballot processes in person and urged the county to take local control of elections, implement absentee limits, voter photo ID, and hand counts.

Mary Helcio Paloso (transcribed as Kolokiolipolis earlier in the agenda) criticized the OMV manual and argued that proposed DMV procedures that default to registering apparently qualified individuals and providing an opt‑out may effectively register people against their will and could increase ineligible registrations already on rolls. She urged the county to submit state rule comments and requested local control of voter rolls.

Election manager Dan Forrester was referenced by a public commenter as having offered a records‑request view after certification; Forrester did not speak during the board meeting.

Board members thanked speakers and encouraged submission of comments through the Secretary of State’s formal rulemaking process. The record contains requests from members of the public for expanded observation and for the county to consider local measures to change how registrations and ballots are handled.