Oregon’s state elections office has shut down its phone lines for the day because of a deluge of calls from out-of-state callers sharing misinformation about Republican President Donald Trump, who chose not to submit a statement to the state-issued Voters’ Pamphlet. Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, are on ballots that began arriving in Oregon voters’ mailboxes this week. They’re also included in a list of candidates on page 26  in the Voters’ Pamphlet  but are marked with an asterisk because they didn’t submit a statement to be printed in the pamphlet. The Secretary of State’s Office didn’t identify the callers but the  omission of a Trump statement in the pamphlet caught the attention of right-wing misinformation spreaders, including the X account “Libs of TikTok,” which posted a video of someone flipping through the pamphlet that has been retweeted more than 11,000 times. Other social media accounts shared false claims that Trump and Vance were “removed from the election website,” calling it “election interference” and sharing the Elections Division phone number. The online version of the Voters’ Pamphlet has a giant warning box that states that candidates are not required to file statements and only candidates who submitted statements will appear on the online menu — but all candidates will appear on the ballot.  A spokesperson for the Secretary of State’s Office said the office is currently planning to close its phone lines just on Thursday, but that may change. Oregon voters with questions can contact the office by email at [email protected] or call and leave a voicemail. They can also get in touch with their own local county clerk’s office.  “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 statement. “We need to do more as a country to discourage this kind of behavior. Spreading rumors and false claims of election interference does nothing to help Oregonians.” Oregon lawmakers passed a law in 2022 to criminalize harassing election workers. Anyone who commits that crime can face up to 364 days in prison and a $6,250 fine. Oregon Capital Chronicle is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oregon Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Lynne Terry for questions: [email protected]. Follow Oregon Capital Chronicle on Facebook and Twitter. STORY TIP OR IDEA? Send an email to Salem Reporter’s news team: [email protected]. The post Oregon shuts down election phone line temporarily because of out-of-state misinformation appeared first on Salem Reporter.