Oregon Elections Office Shuts Down ‘Overwhelmed’ Phone Line, Citing False Information About Voters’ Pamphlet

An election worker sorts submitted ballots at the Multnomah County Elections Office in Portland, Ore., on Nov. 2, 2020. Nathan Howard/Getty Images

The Oregon Elections Division shut down its phone lines on Oct. 17 after the system was “overwhelmed” by out-of-state callers responding to false information about why former President Donald Trump does not appear in the Oregon voters’ pamphlet, according to an announcement by the Oregon Secretary of State Elections Division.

State officials also assured voters that the Republican candidate will be on the ballot.

“Social media posts have been falsely claiming this as election interference, when it is in fact a decision made by the Trump campaign” to not submit a campaign statement for the pamphlet, according to a news release from the Secretary of State’s office.

“As the Republican candidate for President, Donald Trump will be on the ballot in Oregon.”

By 2:45 p.m. on Oct. 17, the office had posted on its website that “Both the Elections and Corporation Divisions​ have closed for the day due to elevated safety concerns.”

The voters’ pamphlets were mailed to voters on Oct. 16.

The Trump campaign did not submit a statement to appear in the voters’ pamphlet, according to the Secretary of State Elections Division. The pamphlet lists Trump’s name at the beginning among a list of seven candidates, but notes with an asterisk, “Candidate chose not to submit a voters’ pamphlet statement.”

Despite an announcement in April by the Oregon Republican Party and news media reporting on the issue, some social media accounts recently questioned why Trump was not in the pamphlet or made false claims.

“The decision not to submit a statement was made by the Trump campaign earlier this year,” the Oregon Republican Party said in another statement on its website on Oct. 10.

Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade expressed frustration over the phone lines being inundated by out-of-state callers.

“Oregonians who need assistance will now have to wait because some individuals operating in bad faith are misleading people online,” she wrote in the release. “We need to do more as a country to discourage this kind of behavior. Spreading rumors and false claims of election interference does nothing to help Oregonians.”

Oregon voters requiring assistance can leave a voicemail at the Elections Division and their calls will be prioritized for return.