Oregon Election Interference and Threats, Oregon, 2024

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Quinn P. Harrington and Austin Rice-Stitt will lead the office’s efforts in coordination with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program.

The Department of Justice has an important role in deterring and combatting discrimination and intimidation at the polls, threats of violence directed at election officials and poll workers, and election fraud.

Federal law protects against such crimes as threatening violence against election officials or staff, intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, impersonating voters, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input.

The Voting Rights Act protects the right of voters to mark their own ballot or to be assisted by a person of their choice (where voters need assistance because of disability or inability to read or write in English).

Complaints about possible violations of the federal voting rights laws can be made directly to the Civil Rights Division in Washington, D.C. by calling (800) 253-3931 or submitting an online complaint form at https://civilrights.justice.gov.

The FBI will have special agents available in each field office and resident agency throughout the country to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses on election day.

Please note, however, in the case of a crime of violence or intimidation, please call 911 immediately and before contacting federal authorities. State and local police have primary jurisdiction over polling places, and almost always have faster reaction capacity in an emergency.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Harrington and Rice-Stitt can be reached by calling (503) 727-1000 for information on the Justice Department’s Election Day Program in Oregon or to direct election-related complaints to the proper authorities.

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