Secretary of state apologizes for goof
By Kelsey Watts, KTVZ.COM
A mistyped phone number just inside the Oregon Voters' Pamphlet is now drawing some unwanted attention to the upcoming election.
Voters' Pamphlets just started hitting mailboxes across Oregon last week, and each county has its own version. But one phone number that's inside every copy in the state is making headlines.
Inside the front cover, in a letter from Secretary of State Bill Bradbury, a 1-800 number is listed for voters to register on the phone. But as it turns out, the number has nothing to do with elections, voting or Oregon's primary - it's an adult hotline.
The recording then prompts you to dial another number - this one far more graphic.
It's an honest mistake that's now in some 1.7 million pamphlets across Oregon.
"It does surprise me, but it's kind of funny too," Dolores Jeske said Tuesday.
While the error is making for a few laughs with Bend-area voters, it's not sitting well with everyone.
"I find that to be a very bad mistake. If that's what they get when they call the number, that's bad," said Dan Smith.
"That would be very interesting. Now I want to go home and dial it," said Deborah Ingledew-Covington, visiting Central Oregon from Marion County.
The Deschutes County Clerk's Office found out about the error last week, when a voter called the hotline.
"They just wanted to alert us to that, and I told them I would call the Secretary of State's Office to let them know, and they had already been alerted," County Clerk Nancy Blankenship said with a smile.
Bradbury put out this apologetic message:
"One of my biggest priorities here is to provide voters with all the resources they need, and clearly, we erred with the listing for the voter hotline phone number on one page in the voters' pamphlet. So, I sincerely apologize for any confusion that may have caused, and I'd like
to reiterate--don't call that wrong number! The correct number is 866-ORE-VOTE."
The letter was prepared in the secretary of state's Executive Office, then went on to the Election Office and was proofread a number of times, by a number of people.
"Typically you'll catch those, but every now and then, something slips through," Blankenship said.
It's an honest error that some people are joking may stir a little more interest in the upcoming election.
Bradbury's office does not plan on mailing any type of correction out to voters. The incorrect number is already out there, and the office says just don't call it.
The correct 1-866 phone number does appear several times throughout the pamphlet. It's just unfortunate that the misprint appeared on the inside of the front cover.
Again, the correct voter registration phone number is 1-866-ORE-VOTE.
