Lehan Calls For "Emergency" Meeting of Clackamas Board

County Chair Wants Answers: Speculation About Alleged Fraudster Intensifies

Charlotte Lehan
By NIGEL JAQUISS

Clackamas County Chair Charlotte Lehan tonight called for an emergency meeting of that county's board of commissioners on Monday morning, the day before ballots for the Nov. 6 general election are to be counted.

Lehan, who is locked in a tight re-election battle with challenger John Ludlow, took action after the state's top elections official, Secretary of State Kate Brown, ordered two outside monitors to stand watch in the Clackamas County election offices and after police in West Linn, which is located in Clackamas County, stopped Democratic canvassers from collecting ballots Friday night.

As WW first reported, The Oregon Department of Justice opened an investigation last week into alleged ballot fraud on the part of a woman working temporarily in the Clackamas County elections office. Although neither DOJ nor Clackamas County has identified the woman, speculation among knowledgeable sources centers on a woman who normally works in the county's assessment and taxation division but moves over to elections when ballots are being received and counted.

Here is the request for an emergency meeting Lehan sent to County Administrator Steve Wheeler, the other four county commissioners, the county clerk, county counsel, Oregon Department of Justice and the Oregon Secretary of State's office Sunday evening.


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