Julia Shumway, Oregon Capital Chronicle

The Oregon agency that issues driver’s licenses erroneously registered more than 300 non-citizens to vote, though state officials say only two people actually cast ballots.

State Elections Director Molly Woon told the Capital Chronicle that she received a call late Thursday afternoon from the administrator of the Driver and Motor Vehicle Services division of the Oregon Department of Transportation, telling her that DMV staff caught a data entry error that led to the division wrongly classifying some noncitizens as citizens. State election officials spent Friday reviewing that information and working with county clerks to ensure those people won’t receive ballots unless and until they prove they’re eligible to vote.

A federal complaint filed Tuesday by a Corvallis voter alleges that Republican congressional candidate Monique DeSpain illegally omitted information on her required financial disclosure reports, leaving voters in the dark about potential conflicts of interest.

DeSpain, a retired Air Force colonel, is challenging first-term Democratic U.S. Rep. Val Hoyle in the 4th Congressional District, which includes Eugene and Corvallis as well as the central coast and most of southwestern Oregon. Her campaign has largely focused on presenting herself as a squeaky-clean alternative to Hoyle, who received campaign contributions from and pushed for a grant for a troubled cannabis company that’s the subject of a federal investigation.

But the complaint retired nurse Linda Ramsey filed with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Public Integrity Division on Tuesday alleges that DeSpain broke federal ethics laws by failing to disclose required information about her investments. The Ethics in Government Act of 1978 requires members of Congress and candidates to file reports detailing their personal finances, so voters and watchdogs can see whether personal financial interests conflict with job responsibilities. ...

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump once again declined to submit a statement to Oregon’s state-issued voters’ pamphlet, skipping an opportunity to make his case to the state’s 3 million voters.

Candidates aren’t required to submit voters’ pamphlet statements, and Trump will still appear on all Oregon ballots. But most candidates participate in the pamphlet, which is mailed to all Oregon households and is a cheap – presidential candidates pay the top fee of $3,500 – way to share a campaign’s message with all voters.

The state-issued voters’ pamphlet, which will be mailed to voters by mid-October, will feature four presidential candidates: Democrat Kamala Harris, Libertarian Chase Oliver, Green Party candidate Jill Stein and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who withdrew from contention in several swing states but will still appear on the Oregon ballot as the We The People party’s nominee. Trump, Progressive nominee Cornel West and Constitution Party nominee Randall Terry will appear on the ballot but did not submit statements. ...

A national analysis group that correctly predicted the Oregon Legislature’s partisan split after the 2022 elections is now forecasting solid Democratic majorities.

CNalysis, the country’s only elections forecasting group that forecasts legislative elections, is predicting a 39-21 Democratic majority in the state House and an 18-11 split in the state Senate.

Those margins would give Democratic leaders breathing room as they try to negotiate a new transportation funding package during the 2025 session, as any attempts to create new taxes or raise existing ones requires a supermajority of 18 votes in the Senate and 36 in the House. Democrats now hold 17 Senate seats and 35 in the House. ...

Three Oregon Republicans running to control the state’s elections have all stoked false claims of voter fraud and indicated they want to end Oregon’s decades-long tradition of running elections by mail.

State Sen. Dennis Linthicum, Beaverton real estate broker Brent Barker and Salem business analyst Tim McCloud are vying for their party’s nomination for secretary of state, an open position since appointed Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade chose not to seek a full term. It’s the only statewide office Republicans have won this century: Dennis Richardson was elected in 2016 and served until his death in 2019.

Barker participated in an interview. McCloud answered a questionnaire sent to all candidates but didn’t respond to interview requests. Linthicum did neither. ...