Press Release: Oregon Republican Party Responds to Secretary of State Tobias Read’s Refusal to Cooperate with U.S. DOJ Election Inquiry

August 19, 2025

Salem, OR - The Oregon Republican Party is deeply concerned by Secretary of State Tobias Read's refusal to cooperatewith the U.S. Department of Justice in its requestfor voter and election records-information intended to safeguard the integrity of our elections.

In a July 23, 2025, letter to the DOJ, Secretary Read stated:

"I do not see how I can fulfill my duty to protect the integrity of Oregon's election system while engaging in data-sharing agreements with the U.S. DOJ or other federal agencies at present."

This position is both inconsistent and alarming. Secretary Read has no problem sharing Oregonians' private voter information with ERIC-an outside, non-governmental organization- without the consent of Oregon voters. ERIC claims to help member states, including Oregon, keep voter rolls up to date, yet its own bylaws forbid tracking non-citizens:

"Under no circumstances shall the Member transmit an individual's record where the record contains documentation or other information indicating that the individual is a non-citizen of the United States."

At the same time, Secretary Read refuses to provide certain data to the federal government-an entity that already possesses much of our personally identifiable information, such as Social Security numbers-and is charged with enforcing federal election security laws.

Secretary Read says he does not trust the federal government to protect Oregonians' data due to "recent, high-profile leaks of state secrets" and "reckless gutting of federal agencies." These

statements are vague at best and read like deliberate deflections from the real issue: ensuring election integrity.

This is not a partisan issue. In fact, Democrats, such as Oregon U.S. Senator Ron Wyden and Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) have warned about election system vulnerabilities.

The facts speak for themselves:

• FACT: Oregon has registered non-citizens to vote.

• FACT: The Secretary of State's office has been suedfor violating the NVRA (National Voter Registration Act) by deleting key voter list maintenance records .

• FACT: Oregon fails to provide required data on inactive votersto the U.S. Election Assistance Commission each year (despite one in four registered voters being inactive).

• FACT: Democrats changed state law to allow ballots to be counted up to seven days after Election Day without requiring a postmark [ORS 254.470(8)].

• FACT: Oregon is not removing inactive voters from its rolls after two federal elections, as required by the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) [ORS 247.275].

• FACT: Oregon allows people to register to vote without providing a valid physical or mailing address. (ORS 247.038)

• FACT: Oregon allows ballot harvesting. (ORS 254.470)

• FACT: The democrats passed a law a few years ago to allow processing of incoming ballots by county clerks upon receipt (weeks before Election Day) without oversight by election observers. (ORS 254.478)

The U.S. Department of Justice's request for information is not about "peddling conspiracy theories," as Secretary Read claims. It is about making sure every legal vote counts and every illegal vote is stopped. Thousands of Oregonians want greater oversight because they have lost confidence in the system's ability to safeguard their voice at the ballot box.

The Oregon Republican Party calls on Secretary Read to put partisanship aside and work with federal authorities to address vulnerabilities in our election system. Protecting the right to vote- and ensuring that every legal vote is counted-should be the highest priority for every elected official in this state.