A temporary elections employee allegedly tampered with ballots to cast additional votes for Republican candidates in Clackamas County, where several hotly contested races could tilt the balance of power in cities, the county and even the state legislature.

The Oregon Department of Justice confirmed that

but did not identify the female employee or disclose how many ballots might be affected.

The department is investigating the matter promptly since the Nov. 6 election is just days away, said Jeff Manning, spokesman for the Department of Justice. "Just given the timing, obviously, this is a high priority case for us at this point," he said.

On Friday, Oregon Secretary of State Kate Brown sent an elections observer to the Clackamas County Elections Office. Fred Neal, a retired elections manager with a decade of experience, is expected to be there for as long as it takes to process all the ballots, said Andrea Cantu-Schomus, spokeswoman for the Secretary of State's Office. He will review processes and procedures, including security plans.

History of errors

Several elections problems have surfaced in Clackamas County in recent years.

May 2004: Ballots mailed to between 100 and 300 Sandy voters exclude three annexation questions. County Clerk Sherry Hall acknowledges that she learned of the error a week and a half before the election but didn't alert the public or news media. All three results are close enough to be affected.

March 2009: County election officials improperly allow candidates to file for office until 6 p.m. on the deadline day, although state law calls for a 5 p.m. deadline. The error affected about a dozen people interested in public office.

May 2010: Hall mistakenly places two races on the May ballot instead of the November ballot. Ballots are reprinted at a cost of about $120,000. Secretary of State sends an observer to monitor the county's election process.

October 2010: The Voters Pamphlet incorrectly publishes a map illustrating a West Linn ballot measure with an Oregon City measure. A ballot insert notifies voters of the error.

The unidentified elections worker allegedly cast votes for Republicans in races left blank, according to Willamette Week, which first reported the story.

Tampering with ballots is a Class C felony punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a $125,000 fine.

Clackamas County is considered a swing county. Out of more than 228,000 registered voters – more than 10 percent of voters statewide – Democrats have an edge of just 7,000. As of Thursday,

.

News of the investigation promptly elicited cries from Democrats concerned about the integrity of next Tuesday's results. State Democratic leaders said they feared the employee's alleged actions could tilt the House majority -- now at a 30-30 tie -- toward Republicans, a result that would affect Oregonians statewide.

"Several of the tightest races in Oregon are in Clackamas County," said state Rep. Tina Kotek, the House Democratic leader. "These races are likely to be determined by only a few hundred votes, so the repercussions for voters statewide could not be more severe."

U.S. Rep. Kurt Schrader, a Democrat running for re-election in the Fifth Congressional District, which includes Clackamas County,

"That is absolutely the worst crime against humanity in this country that I can think of," said Schrader. "That person deserves the worst penalty that could possibly be given under the judicial system."

The campaign manager of the top Democrat on the county ballot, Board of Commissioners Chairwoman Charlotte Lehan, said

, perhaps a request for the Secretary of State's Office to step in and run the election. The Lehan and Schrader campaigns work out of the same office in the Oak Grove area near Milwaukie.

"With our polling saying the race is in a statistical dead tie, we're very concerned about these allegations, so we will be taking very decisive actions to try to protect Charlotte," Chris Edmonds said. "It's incredibly disconcerting to us, and we'll take whatever steps are necessary to make sure it's a fair election, because this throws it all into doubt."

In a general election, up to 30 percent of voters "undervote," meaning they make choices in the highest-profile races, such as president, and leave others blank, Edmonds said.

"From our perspective, Charlotte is the most vulnerable person in a case of downballot filling-in because the undervote is so high in these county commission races," Edmonds said. "It leaves open a huge margin of room for somebody, such as an election workers, to sway an election."

Oregon Republican Party officials on Friday afternoon rebutted Edmonds' suggestion that the alleged vote-tampering was a "Republican effort" and called on Lehan for an apology and retraction.

"This is a politically motivated allegation made with no evidence or basis in fact," said Allen Alley, chairman of the Oregon Republican Party. "The Oregon Republican Party and the Clackamas County Republican Central Committee have absolutely no involvement in this alleged violation and call on the Lehan campaign to retract this unfair and untrue allegation against the Republican Party."

More

The allegations did little to faze Lehan's challenger, former Wilsonville Mayor John Ludlow, who said his last poll showed he was "well ahead."

"If somebody saw (the employee) do it, and there's proof enough to convict them, then throw the book at them," Ludlow said Friday. "I get to a point here in this election where I just stop worrying about things because it's just not good for your health."

The state investigation was launched after the Clackamas County Elections Office reported the incident, Clackamas County Clerk Sherry Hall said Friday. "It happened on Wednesday, and we immediately reported it to the Secretary of State on Wednesday afternoon," Hall said.

The Secretary of State's Office then referred the case to the Department of Justice. The Secretary of State's Office handles elections complaints but does not investigate felony matters.

It's unclear if the temporary employee under investigation has been suspended or terminated. "I don't know what her status is," said county spokesman Tim Heider, noting that most county offices are closed on Fridays.

It's unclear how many temporary elections workers Clackamas County has hired for this election or how it hires, trains or monitors them. Hall did not respond to a public records request seeking that information.

The Multnomah County Elections Division hires about 250 temporary employees for presidential elections, said Tim Scott, director of elections. The workers are hired by the county's Human Resources and are not subject to criminal background checks.

"It hasn't been a concern," Scott said. "There are enough checks and balances in the system that if somebody was trying to do something illegal, there'd be lots of other people who would spot it."

Many of the temporary employees have worked multiple elections. New employees get trained on the job by sitting with experienced workers. Those tasked with opening ballots sit in groups of four, with group members belonging to different political affiliations, Scott said. They're supervised by full-time elections staff.

Washington County has hired about 75 temporary employees through a temp agency. Those employees are not subject to criminal background checks, which are not required under state elections laws, said Philip Bransford, a county spokesman.

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