An effort to move the Idaho border to include parts of eastern and southern Oregon had mixed results in Tuesday’s election. Four Oregon counties voted on the proposal.
The proposal would move Idaho’s border so that it encompassed eastern and southern Oregon to the coast. Oregon would be smaller, including the north and central coast, the Willamette Valley, and Bend.
Mike McCarter is with Move Oregon’s Borders for a Greater Idaho. He said the ballot measures were meant to get a feel for public sentiment.
“Counties cannot secede from the state of Oregon.” McCarter said. “But this sends a message to the state legislature that you’ve got a large number of frustrated people in the state and when you pass issues in Salem, that you think about the entire state, not just the Willamette Valley.
An advisory vote went down with 57% opposing in Douglas County. Wallowa County’s measure fell by a slim margin. But local ballot measures in Jefferson and Union Counties narrowly passed.
McCarter, who lives in LaPine, says the Move Oregon’s Border campaign will keep circulating petitions for measures on the May 2021 ballot in 11 more counties.
Copyright 2020 KLCC.