FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 24, 2022
Contact: Jaime Mathis, jaime.clackamasvoice@gmail.com 503-708-3249
Catherine McMullen, Candidate for Clackamas County Clerk, Issues Statement on Mounting Public Outcry for Clerk Hall’s Resignation
West Linn, Or.–Candidate for Clackamas County Clerk and veteran elections administrator Catherine McMullen released the following statement in response to the mounting public outcry over Clackamas County’s delayed May Primary elections results:
“As an experienced elections administrator and Clackamas County voter, I fully appreciate how distressing this election’s mishandling has been for voters, candidates, staff, and the greater public.
Our elections are the heart of our democracy. Local election administration and voter participation are the heartbeat that keeps our communities pulsing forward. It is important that we stay clear-eyed in our response to this unfortunate event. This is an issue of one person’s incompetence, not a flawed voting system. Despite the sporadic and delayed reporting, upon certification, the May Primary Election results will be accurate.
This crisis could have been avoided if Clerk Hall had taken appropriate preventative measures, followed established protocols, caught the blurred barcodes on ballots in quality control; or even after discovering the error, had mounted a timely or planned response to the printing error.
There is public recourse and it lies in our electoral process. Clerk Hall is an elected official and the citizens of Clackamas County can vote her out of office in November if she chooses not to resign.
You can guarantee that there will be plentiful oversight and quality assurance for the August Special and November General elections from the Secretary of State, Clackamas County leadership, elections officials like myself, and fellow voters.
Clackamas County is treating this like the emergency it is and has stepped up resources, organization, and communication under County Administrator Gary Schmidt (newly appointed Deputy Elections Administrator). I am grateful for the hundreds of county employees who are now processing ballots in addition to their important work for county residents to make sure this election is completed on time. Updates from Clackamas County are now available on their own website: https://www.clackamas.us/elections/electionupdate. Thank you for your dedication to our democracy.
We can and will rise from this preventable situation by standing together as voters and citizens, but we must strengthen our focus and resolve to make our elections work for us this November and vote the current clerk out of office.
In my seven years of administering elections, I have won awards for voter education and outreach, conducted multiple elections during the pandemic and even one during a county-wide fire emergency. I am known for my attention to detail, librarian-level organization, empathy, and skilled crisis response. We WILL have elections that are timely, transparent, secure, and trustworthy.”
You can learn more and get involved with Catherine McMullen’s campaign by visiting, volunteering, or donating at: www.ClackamasVoice.org