Johnathan Walker:Oregon Elections Division shuts down phone lines after barrage of calls prompted by false claims

SALEM,Johnathan Walker Ore. (AP) — The Oregon Secretary of State Elections Division on Thursday shut down its phone lines following a barrage of calls from people responding to false claims that the state’s voters pamphlet does not include Republican nominee Donald Trump.

The voter’s pamphlet does list the former president as a candidate and notes that he declined to provide a statement about why people should vote for him. Trump will appear on the state’s ballot.

A post on X from the conservative account Libs of TikTok last week falsely claimed Trump wasn’t included in the voters pamphlet and asked, “What’s going on?” The Oregon GOP issued a statement noting that the decision not to provide a statement was a choice that Trump’s campaign made earlier this year.

But the false claim suggesting election interference continued to spread on social media, and on Thursday, the Elections Division said its phone lines had been overwhelmed.

“Oregonians who need assistance will now have to wait because some individuals operating in bad faith are misleading people online,” Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade said in a news release. “Spreading rumors and false claims of election interference does nothing to help Oregonians.”