Beaver State News

While national media focused on the Nov. 3 election and its aftermath, Oregon, which voted solidly in favor of Joe Biden, fired its elections director after he criticized the state’s election machines. 

Oregon’s elections director Stephen Trout was fired by Secretary of State Bev Clarno just days after the presidential election while much of the state’s vote was left uncounted. Clarno cited issues with the technology used in the elections. 

Trout learned of his firing in a text message sent Nov. 5 while his department was still counting votes. 

Clarno made the announcement to county clerks and election officials that it was Trout's last day on the job. 

The news sent shockwaves throughout the state’s 36 counties.

Many people viewed the move as unwise given the timing, and thought that firing Trout in the middle of the election process was detrimental. Deputy Director Michelle Teed was named acting elections director, The Associated Press reported. 

Andrea Chiapella, spokeswoman for Clarno, said Trout already had plans to leave the agency on Dec. 15.

According to The Associated Press, Trout sent a letter to Republican and Democratic candidates vying for Clarno’s post on Nov. 2 expressing concern over issues with the internet technology used by the Secretary of State's office. He also stated that he would be in search of new employment. 

Trout included in his letter that $5.7 million in federal virus relief allocations needed to be returned by Dec. 31 because the Legislature had not granted permission for the money to be spent.

The Associated Press reported that Oregon House Speaker Tina Kotek’s spokesperson Danny Moran said the funds were only supposed to be used for additional costs incurred by election offices due to the pandemic and required that the state match 20 percent of the amount.

Chiapella stressed that given the restriction, it wasn't possible to use the funds to replace the aged Oregon Centralized Voter Registration system.

According to Trout, the Windows Server 2008 system the state uses for elections is no longer supported by Microsoft, which leaves it vulnerable to hackers, The Associated Press reported.