Oregon Secretary of State

Top election staffers appeared before a legislative committee for the first time since revelations Oregon improperly registered more than 1,200 people to vote.

Officials say 10 of those improperly registered went on to vote. They stress the issue will not be a factor in this year’s election.

The news comes as immigration and allegations of voter fraud animate Republican politics nationally.

The Oregon Republican Party’s attorney urged the Secretary of State to target Libertarian ballot access.

In early returns Read had an overwhelming lead over with 72% of the vote as of 8:05 p.m. on Tuesday.

Three Oregon Republicans running to control the state’s elections have all stoked false claims of voter fraud and indicated they want to end Oregon’s decades-long tradition of running elections by mail.

Half of the eight candidates responded to a questionnaire from the Oregon Capital Chronicle: Democrats Tobias Read, Jim Crary and Dave Stauffer and Republican Tim McCloud.

The lawsuit, filed Friday in Josephine County Circuit Court, alleges that Goodwin’s listed address is actually a wine tasting room.

A local citizens’ group had requested that an investigation be conducted into county leadership for their handling of upcoming county ballot measures.

Sen. Dennis Linthicum, R-Klamath Falls and Sen. Brian Boquist, R-Dallas are two of eight state senators prohibited from running again for state Senate after participating in extended walkouts last year.

The Oregon Supreme Court will defer to the U.S. Supreme Court and won’t hear a court case challenging former President Donald Trump’s ability to appear on Oregon ballots.

Court battles and big congressional races set the stage for an intense election year.