SALEM — Through November of this year, 272,202 Oregonians were registered to vote through the state’s new automatic registration program, state officials announced Monday.

Of those registered through the initiative, referred to as Motor Voter, about 226,904 were registered in time to vote in November’s election and more than 97,000 of them cast a ballot.

The Secretary of State’s Office said in a statement that such a turnout rate — about 44 percent — among those automatically registered exceeded the expectations of elections experts.

With approximately 20 days left in her tenure, Secretary of State Jeanne Atkins was at the Capitol Monday during the Legislature’s final interim session of the year to tout the results of Motor Voter.

At a press conference in Oregon Gov. Kate Brown’s office, Atkins stood behind large bags of hazelnuts, which were intended to reflect the number of new Motor Voters.

“Like hazelnuts, this program is uniquely Oregon,” Atkins said. “Unlike hazelnuts, automatic voter registration can grow and expand anywhere in America.”

Oregon is the first state to implement such a program. Oregonians who have contact with the DMV and are legally eligible to vote are now automatically registered. They can choose a party affiliation, or remain non-affiliated. Oregonians can opt out of registration altogether.

In testimony before the Senate Rules Committee Monday, Atkins said before Motor Voter, relatively fewer eligible Oregonians were registering to vote, and therefore fewer eligible Oregonians were participating in elections.

Atkins also expressed confidence in the state’s election process in a year when, she noted, the process itself has been under heightened scrutiny.

Two cases of allegedly fraudulent registration have been referred to the Oregon Department of Justice, and one instance was related to Motor Voter, Atkins said during Monday’s meeting.

Oregon’s Secretary of State-elect Dennis Richardson does not plan to make “significant” changes to the program, a spokesman said Monday.

However, Richardson, a former state legislator from Central Point, expressed concerns about ensuring adequate funding for the program.

In a statement, Richardson, the first Republican to be elected secretary of state in decades, said that while access to voting is “crucial to serving the public good,” he wanted to make sure there was enough money for it.

“We must now work to ensure adequate funding supports the 36 counties across our state so local elections clerks can be fully successful on [sic] this important work,” his statement said.

The program has meant additional costs for county offices.

Motor Voter’s additional registrants meant more costs for postage and temporary employees in Umatilla County, according to Umatilla County Clerk Kim Lindell.

Between 2015 and 2016, the number of registered voters in Umatilla County leapt nearly 22 percent, according to data the Secretary of State compiled for its Wednesday presentation to the Legislature’s Emergency Board.

The Secretary of State’s Office has calculated $5,727 in reimbursements to Umatilla County — 15 cents for every active registered voter in 2016. Lindell said the approximate cost of the election to the county was $47,168, a $7,549 increase from the 2014 general election.