We, voters of Deschutes County, Oregon, do not want Steve Dennison to continue as our County Clerk.

The county's own internal auditor has reported these findings about the Clerk's office:

• In a 2025 election audit, the auditor reported that Clerk Steve Dennison refused to discuss or provide information about security for the county's ballot-counting software, including the election security plan required by state law, so the auditor could not give assurance that the system is secure. County code says all county officers and employees must give the auditor unrestricted access to information and records. The Clerk said state law and a Secretary of State directive required him to keep the plan confidential; the auditor disagreed.

• The same 2025 audit found that 7 of the county's 11 ballot drop-box sites had openings higher than the 48-inch maximum in a U.S. Justice Department accessibility checklist, and that the Clerk's Office had no plan at the time to fix them. The Clerk disputed this, saying drive-up boxes are exempt from that height rule; the auditor stood by the finding. A December 2025 follow-up listed the audit's recommendations as still "in process."

• A June 2024 county audit of the Clerk's office found that recording staff (not elections staff) shared one login and password in the office's property-recording software, and that software settings requiring a second staffer to check recorded documents and a supervisor to approve voided receipts had been turned off. The office said it fixed these during the audit, and a follow-up nine months later reported those controls were in place. At that follow-up, 4 of the audit's 13 recommendations, about doing a risk assessment and following county purchasing rules, were still in process.

Voters deserve a County Clerk who welcomes oversight, answers questions, and runs elections every resident can trust.

We'll make our voices heard on November 3, 2026. If he is re-elected, we will support an official recall petition as soon as Oregon law allows.

Read every finding, with page numbers and sources: https://jonathancurtis2026.netlify.app/audits

Learn more: https://jonathancurtis2026.netlify.app

This petition shows public support. It is not an official recall petition. Oregon only counts recall signatures on approved, hand-signed sheets. Started by Jonathan Curtis, independent candidate for Deschutes County Clerk.