The Oregon Secretary of State’s Office has opened a new public comment period as it prepares to finalize updated administrative rules governing the Oregon Motor Voter program. The move marks a significant step in the state’s ongoing effort to strengthen its automatic voter registration system and implement recommendations from an independent audit completed earlier this year.
The Oregon Motor Voter program, often referred to as OMV, automatically registers eligible residents to vote when they interact with the Oregon Department of Transportation’s Driver and Motor Vehicle Services Division. Since its creation, the program has served as a cornerstone of the state’s voter participation model, ensuring broad access to the electoral process through routine DMV transactions. The upcoming round of rule revisions aims to further fortify that system by clarifying procedures, tightening safeguards and addressing previously identified weaknesses.
To guide the revision process, the Secretary of State formed a Rules Advisory Committee that met from September through November. The committee included election specialists, representatives from the DMV, county clerks and professionals with experience in immigration systems and services. Their task was to examine existing rules and recommend updates that would address concerns raised by the Baker Tilly audit, which highlighted a range of technical and clerical inconsistencies in the program’s administrative structure.
Secretary of State Tobias Read emphasized the importance of the overhaul and outlined the goals behind the rulemaking effort. He stated that the strength of Oregon’s elections depends on ensuring that the automatic registration system is accurate, secure and capable of protecting residents who may be disproportionately affected by administrative errors. He also noted that correcting the issues identified in the audit is central to reinforcing public trust, safeguarding voter information and enhancing the reliability of the registration pipeline.
The Rules Advisory Committee has completed its review, and the proposed rules are now ready for public examination. The Secretary of State’s Office is inviting residents, advocacy groups, election observers and other interested parties to weigh in before the rules are finalized. The comment period includes opportunities for both verbal and written input.
A virtual public hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, January 6, 2026, at 11:30 a.m. The hearing will run for 30 minutes and will allow participants to share their views directly with state officials overseeing the rulemaking process. Details regarding how to access the hearing will be posted on the Secretary of State’s rulemaking page as the date approaches.
In addition to the hearing, written comments may be submitted by email. The state has established a dedicated address for feedback related to the Motor Voter update, and all written input must be received by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, January 13, 2026. Officials say the collected comments will be reviewed as part of the final evaluation before the rules are formally adopted.
The Secretary of State’s Office maintains that public engagement is vital to ensuring the OMV program continues to function effectively and equitably. The proposed rules are expected to address technical improvements, refine communication between state agencies, update definitions and strengthen data-handling procedures. The revisions also aim to prevent the types of oversights that were identified in the audit, particularly errors stemming from information transfers between the DMV and election systems.
Oregonians can find additional information about the advisory committee’s work, the text of the proposed rules and instructions for participating in the comment process on the Secretary of State website. Once the comment window closes and feedback is evaluated, the office is expected to move forward with adopting a final version of the updated administrative rules.
The state’s effort to refine the Motor Voter program marks a renewed focus on election security and voter confidence at a time when registration systems across the country continue to undergo increased scrutiny. Oregon officials say the changes now underway will enhance the reliability of the program and ensure that every eligible resident is accurately and securely included in the voter rolls.