It Was NOT Oregon Election Officials Who Kept Donald Trump Off the State’s Voters’ Pamphlet
It was the Donald Trump campaign’s decision, NOT Oregon election officials, to keep the Republican presidential nominee off the state’s voters’ pamphlet, according to a statement by the Office of the Secretary of State (SoS).
Election Division Phone Lines Closed to Public Today
Squashing rumors of conspiracy theories that prompted her decision to close the phone lines of the Election Division today, SoS LaVonne Griffin-Valade says electoral officials were flooded with out-of-state phone calls following social media posts falsely claiming interference by electoral workers.
Griffin-Valade says it was the former president’s campaign that decided not to submit a statement to the Oregon voters’ pamphlet. However, as a Republican presidential candidate, Trump will appear on the ballot paper.
This should be no surprise to Oregonians, as Trump made the same decision in May when he did not submit a statement for the Republican primary.
“We need to do more as a country to discourage this behavior. Spreading rumors and false claims of election interference does nothing to help Oregonians,” says Griffin-Valade.
It Is a Criminal Offense to Threaten or Harass Oregon Election Workers
According to Oregon law (ORS 166.065), it is a crime to threaten or harass an election worker while they are working, or because they did their job.
On October 10, the Oregon Republic Party issued a statement to clarify its reasons for keeping a Trump statement off the Oregon voters’ pamphlet, but despite this the SoS says some social media platforms ‘continue to spread false information.’
In that statement, Trump’s campaign encourages Oregonians to help the Republicans achieve an overwhelming victory on November 5. Referring to DMV transactions, voters are also urged to check that their information ‘has not been inadvertently changed.’
Voter Assistance
Voters needing assistance can obtain information online at OregonVotes.gov. They can also contact the Elections Division via email at [email protected].
Ballots must be postmarked no later than November 5 to be counted.
Preliminary results will be available from 8 p.m. on election day on the Secretary of State website.