With the recent demise of a ballot initiative intended to greatly expand animal welfare laws, Oregonians will officially not see any statewide ballot measure this fall for the first time in 124 years.
In every general election since 1902, when Oregon voters first approved the state’s initiative and referendum system, Oregonians have weighed in on various measures referred by lawmakers or brought forward by citizens, state records show.
Some of Oregon’s most historic policies have been approved through ballot measures, touching on everything from taxes and capital punishment to women’s suffrage and drug decriminalization.
For decades, Oregonians regularly saw more than a dozen measures on their fall ballots. But the number of measures on the ballot has dwindled in recent years, often hovering in the single digits, though never hitting zero — until this year.
Until Friday, it was unclear if Oregonians would face any measures this fall. Although various groups had proposed nearly 90 changes to state law leading up to this fall, only one campaign submitted enough signatures for their measure to possibly qualify. That measure would have criminalized almost all activities that injure or kill animals, including hunting and fishing.
But last week, state elections officials reported that the group had fallen short of the required 117,173 valid signatures by about 13,000 signatures.
There are three types of ballot measures. An initiative is brought forward by citizens who gather signatures in the hopes of changing a state law. A referendum is also brought forward by citizens hoping to undo a law passed by lawmakers. And a referral is sent by lawmakers to voters for approval.
In another close call, a series of transportation tax increases lawmakers approved last year nearly made it onto this November’s ballot. An anti-tax campaign gathered enough signatures to give voters the final say this fall, but Democratic legislators fought to place the tax hikes on this May’s primary ballot instead. They succeeded but the increases went down anyways, with 83% of voters against them.
Since 1902, Oregonians have approved 132 of 377 initiative measures, 24 of 66 referenda and 256 of 439 legislative referrals, according to state records. This fall will be the first general election since 1966 that will not feature a citizen-led initiative measure.
Some Oregonians may still get to decide on local ballot measures this November. For example, Portlanders will weigh in on a measure that would give city residents the ability to decide how the city spends millions every year. It’s unclear if another proposed measure in Portland that would redirect funds from the city’s clean energy fund to increase police staffing will qualify.
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