Oregon voters will face few ballot measures this fall

Oregonians will likely decide just four or possibly five ballot measures this fall as only a pair of citizen-led initiatives appear to have garnered enough signatures by Friday’s deadline.

Proponents of an effort to give every state resident roughly $750 annually from increased corporate taxes submitted 168,854 unverified signatures to the Oregon Secretary of State’s Office on Wednesday, records show, well above the 117,173 needed to make November’s ballot.

And those pushing a proposal that could pave the way for workers in Oregon’s cannabis industry to more easily unionize drummed up 163,164 signatures, according to campaign spokesperson and prominent Salem lobbyist Michael Selvaggio.

“We’re very confident this is going to qualify,” Selvaggio told The Oregonian/OregonLive Friday.

Meanwhile, state lawmakers earlier this year referred a trio of additional measures directly to the ballot. One would amend Oregon’s constitution to allow the Legislature to impeach statewide elected officials with a two-thirds vote of both the House and Senate. Another would create an independent commission to determine salaries and compensation for Oregon elected officials, a matter currently determined by lawmakers.

A third ballot measure referral from lawmakers, championed by then-House Speaker Dan Rayfield, a Corvallis Democrat, would create a ranked choice voting system for all federal and state races.

Other notable initiative efforts explored this year either came up short or were abandoned by advocates.

Proponents of a school voucher-like system that would have allowed families to divert taxpayer dollars for public education to private school tuition failed to collect enough signatures.

Those pushing for sweeping state campaign finance reform and changes to Oregon’s pioneering drug decriminalization law each abandoned efforts after state leaders tackled the issues.

With at most five ballot measures slated for the fall, Oregon continues a recent trend of placing relatively few initiatives in front of voters statewide. There were also only five measures on the November ballot in 2018, which had been the lowest total of measures since 1982.

“The left is pretty happy with the Legislature these days and the right in Oregon is generally dispirited,” said Steve Novick, a Democrat and former Portland city commissioner who spent years working to promote and defeat statewide ballot measures.

Just four statewide measures appeared during both the 2020 and 2022 elections, though some of the issues decided by voters were particularly high profile and consequential.

In 2020, for example, Oregonians voted to legalize guided use psilocybin mushrooms and also decriminalize the possession of small amounts of street drugs such as heroin, methamphetamine and fentanyl.

Citizen-led initiatives approved in 2022 included new rules that bar state lawmakers from seeking reelection for unexcused absences and gun control restrictions that require permits to purchase firearms and restrict the size ammunition magazines.

-- Shane Dixon Kavanaugh covers Portland city government and politics, with a focus on accountability and watchdog reporting.

Reach him at 503-294-7632

Email at skavanaugh@oregonian.com

Follow on Twitter @shanedkavanaugh

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