Allegations of fraud in voter registration hit Oregon State

Student tells story of alleged voter-registration fraud at OSU

Dan Traylor - The Daily Barometer

Amid a statewide investigation into voter-registration fraud, stories of local instances are circulating around campus.

A group recently accused of election violations in Nevada "set up shop on the OSU campus," the Benton County elections office said Thursday, without giving a name of the organization.

Elections office staff responded by confronting the group to "train members ... on Oregon voter-registration law." They also contacted campus organizations including the College Republicans, College Democrats and ASOSU, asking them to "monitor the group's activities" and make sure all forms were properly turned in.

On Tuesday, OSU senior Brandy Martinez was met outside the Valley Library by petitioners asking her to sign a petition to "lower car insurance for young people."

The petitioner asked her to sign her name and phone number on a blank sheet of paper and then presented her with a form he said was required to "verify [her] voter registration."

But she quickly recognized the paper to be a voter registration form, with the title obscured.

"I said, 'no, this is a voter registration form,' and he said, 'No, you need to fill this out to verify that you're registered,'" Martinez said.

The petitioner went on to say she needed to mark "Republican" on the form, saying the Republicans were the only ones willing to fund the petition.

She again refused and immediately called the Benton County elections office.

ASOSU President Kristen Downey said other universities have reported potential fraud.

"We're in contact with {Secretary of State] Bill Bradbury about issues we've come across -- the targeting of college-aged students. They're taking advantage of people -- it's probably their first time registering."

College Democrats member Joel Fischer said he wants anyone who thinks they may have been misled to contact the elections office and write an affidavit for submission to the secretary of state.

Martinez plans to do just that.

Across the state, other instances of possible fraud have been reported.

On the University of Oregon campus, canvassers circulating a petition to "crack down on child molesters" told students they must register as Republicans in order for their signatures to "count," The Associated Press reported.

In Portland, a paid-per-registration canvasser told KGW-TV he had been instructed to only accept forms from Republicans, and that he "might" destroy those from Democrats, the AP reported. It was not clear by what group the canvasser was employed.

A Republican National Committee spokesman issued a statement Wednesday that said its party has "a zero-tolerance policy for anything that smacks of impropriety in registering voters," the AP said.

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