Gov. Tina Kotek had paused the automatic DMV registrations in October. The improper voter registrations occurred in part because Oregon allows some residents who aren’t citizens to obtain driver’s licenses, and the state’s so-called “Motor Voter” law automatically registers most people to vote when they seek a new license or ID.

The Oregon Department of Motor Vehicles began automatically registering people to vote again, the state's Department of Transportation announced Wednesday. The controversial move comes after more than 1,600 people were registered to vote during a “clerical error.” It led to three cases of possible voter fraud.

Kotek ordered a pause to the state’s automatic voter registration program in October after concerning errors were brought to light.

Starting Wednesday, the Oregon Driver and Motor Vehicle Services (DMV) will resume sending records to the Oregon Secretary of State for automatic voter registration, after mistakenly registering noncitizens to vote last year.

In October, Gov. Tina Kotek ordered Oregon DMV to pause automatic voter registration after the agency discovered it had erroneously registered more than 1,600 people to vote who had not presented evidence of U.S. citizenship. (To register to vote in Oregon, a person must be a U.S. citizen, over 16, and a resident of the state.)

The Secretary of State's Office announced Wednesday that the Oregon DMV will resume automatic voter registration after adding new protections against errors found during the last election cycle.

State transportation officials said on Wednesday that the Oregon DMV's 'motor voter' program, paused in October 2024, has resumed as of February 26.