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For $500, Oregon Turns Over Voter Data To Voter Fraud Commission

<p>Election worker Harry Nein processes ballots at Multnomah County election headquarters in Portland, Ore., Tuesday, Nov. 8 2016.</p>

Don Ryan

Election worker Harry Nein processes ballots at Multnomah County election headquarters in Portland, Ore., Tuesday, Nov. 8 2016.

Oregon Secretary of State Dennis Richardson has turned over a database of state voter information to the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity. Richardson says the data transfer complies with Oregon law.

Anyone can get a list of everyone who is registered to vote in Oregon. All it takes is a check for $500. Richardson announced that a person working for the Commission had paid the fee on Friday.

Richardson says the information provided by the Secretary of State’s office includes each voter’s full name and address, birth year and political party affiliation. The list also shows which elections each voter has cast a ballot in, but does not disclose how individuals have voted.

The information also does not include a voter's social security number, driver's license number, signature, disability information, phone number, or birth day/month.

The Secretary of State’s office also says it scrubbed the list of “certain information about public safety officers, participants in the Address Confidentiality Program (for victims of domestic violence and other crimes), persons who demonstrate that their personal safety is in danger and receive an exemption from their county clerk, and 16 or 17-year-olds who preregister to vote but will not reach age 18 by the date of the next election.”

Political campaigns routinely request publicly-available information about registered voters. The initial request from the Commission included some data that is shielded from public disclosure under Oregon law.

The Commission later clarified that it was only seeking information that can be legally obtained by members of the public.

Copyright 2017 Oregon Public Broadcasting