In further election-related security news, Oregon’s elections director was fired in a text message by the Oregon secretary of state on Thursday night after he pointed out in a memo a series of serious problems with the state’s technology for running elections.
Elections Director Stephen Trout learned that he was fired while the vote counting was still underway in Oregon during a record-breaking election that has yet to be certified. Secretary of State Bev Clarno announced to elections officials on Friday morning that Trout was leaving the department immediately.
Trout said he would have stayed on with the secretary of state’s office until Dec. 15, to complete tasks associated with the election. But he was told to clean out his desk.
“I would not abandon my staff or the counties before the election is over, especially since I was the only one at the SOS office with a security clearance that could be notified of any election attacks during this certification process,” Trout wrote in an email to reporters. “There is no resignation letter because I didn’t resign. I was laid off via text message late Thursday.”
Oregon was the first state in the nation to institute all-mail-in voting in the 1990s, along with with automatic voter registration.
