Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Elections Audit topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
County audit praises rank‑choice rollout but urges restored voter outreach, GIS hire and facility plan
Summary
A Multnomah County performance audit found successful implementation of rank‑choice voting but warned of staffing, voter‑education and mapping weaknesses that risk ballot errors and uneven participation; the audit recommends reinstating voter outreach, hiring in‑house GIS expertise by May 2026 and a facilities plan by June 2027.
An audit presented Tuesday by Multnomah County Auditor Jennifer McGor found the county successfully implemented rank‑choice voting but identified gaps that could threaten future elections. The auditor’s office recommended restoring a voter education and outreach program, adding in‑house GIS expertise, improving onboarding and standard operating procedures, and planning for a new elections facility.
The performance audit, introduced at the board meeting by Auditor McGor and carried by senior auditors Mandy Hood, Cineva Bennett and Danny Bernstein, examined ballot errors from 2024, the division’s rank‑choice implementation, staffing and the division’s facility. "Multma County successfully implemented rank choice voting," Cineva Bennett said during the presentation, adding that staff created new voting‑system software and practiced multi‑winner hand recounts.
But the team flagged risks. The audit noted that elimination of the county’s voter education and outreach program reduced community relationships and targeted outreach capacity used to reach underserved populations. "The elimination of this program will impact access to underserved communities," the auditors reported, citing the loss of precinct‑level outreach, translated materials distribution and community events the program had organized.
The auditors also reported significant staffing challenges: in fiscal 2025 the elections division had 16 permanent positions but relied on roughly 202 on‑call and temporary workers for elections, and turnover has eroded institutional memory. The audit found only 33% of current staff felt their onboarding prepared them to fulfill job responsibilities. The auditors urged the division to develop an orientation curriculum, cross‑training plan and supervisory trainings by January 2027.
The audit described the division’s main facility, the Dunaway‑Lovejoy building, as functionally outgrown and limited by accessibility and parking constraints; the auditors recommended a facilities plan by June 2027. "Processing ballots in one location is more efficient and secure," the team wrote, noting that other comparable counties process ballots in a single location.
The report examined two 2024 ballot‑mailing errors and attributed them mainly to mapping and inconsistent GIS data sources. In May 2024 the division had mailed roughly 9,300 ballots that were missing a referendum; staff identified mapping inconsistencies tied to differences in external data sources and geo codes, corrected and remailed ballots before the election, and have since moved to ArcGIS and added GIS documentation and visualization tools. The auditors recommended the elections division request a dedicated GIS staff person by May 2026 or, if work remains outside the division, implement a cross‑training and collaboration plan with county GIS staff.
Auditors emphasized that while the division has committed and experienced staff, the combination of increased workloads—especially from rank‑choice voting—and reduced outreach capacity increases the risk of errors and lowers access for underserved precincts. "There are robust processes," the audit acknowledged, "but our job is to recommend areas for improvement so they can support elections far into the future."
Board members pressed auditors and Elections Director Tim Scott on timelines, budgets and the degree to which one‑time funds could be used to rebuild outreach capacity. Several commissioners said they were concerned about national pressure on election officials and urged timely implementation of the audit’s recommendations. The audit’s formal recommendations include reinstating the voter education/outreach program, developing an onboarding curriculum and cross‑training plan by January 2027, requesting dedicated GIS staffing by May 2026, and preparing an elections facility plan by June 2027.
The county auditor’s presentation and the full audit report are expected to be used by the board and county staff to prioritize budget and operational decisions ahead of upcoming elections.
