List of Oregon ballot measures

The list of Oregon ballot measures lists all statewide ballot measures to the present.

In Oregon, the initiative and referendum process dates back to 1902, when the efforts of the Direct Legislation League prompted amending the Oregon Constitution for the first time since 1859. The process of initiative and referendum became nationally known as the Oregon System.

Types There are three types of ballot measures: initiatives, referendums, and referrals. Initiatives and referendums may be placed on the ballot if their supporters gather enough signatures from Oregon voters; the number of signatures is a percentage based on the number of voters casting ballots in the most recent election for the Governor of Oregon.

Initiative Any issue may be placed before the voters, either amending the Constitution or revising or adding to the Oregon Revised Statutes. Constitutional initiatives require the signature of eight percent of recent voters to qualify for the ballot; statutory reforms require six percent. Referendum The public may act to undo any bill passed by the Oregon Legislative Assembly, by putting a referendum on the ballot. A referendum requires four percent of recent voters to qualify for the ballot. Legislative referral The Legislative Assembly may refer any bill it passes to the public for approval, and they must do so for any amendment to the Constitution. Additionally, the Legislative Assembly may refer revisions to the Constitution; a revision differs from an amendment in that it may alter multiple existing provisions of the Constitution.

The constitutional foundation for ballot measures (and legislation produced by the Oregon Legislative Assembly) may be found in Article IV of the Oregon Constitution,Article IV of the Oregon Constitution, from the Oregon Blue Book. and Chapter 250 of the Oregon Revised StatutesChapter 250 — Initiative and Referendum, Oregon Revised Statutes relates to initiative and referendum as well.

The Oregon Blue Book, produced by the Oregon government, maintains a list similar to this one.Oregon Election History: Initiative, Referendum, and Recall. Oregon Blue Book (2006)

1900s

1902 + 1902 General Electionmeas.num passed Yesvotes Novotes %Yes Const.Amd.? Type description 1 Yes 62,024 5,668 91.63% Yes Leg Limits Uses Initiative and Referendum

1904 + 1904 General Electionmeas.num passed Yesvotes Novotes %Yes Const.Amd.? Type description 1 Yes 45,334 14,031 76.36% Yes Leg Office of State Printer 2 Yes 56,205 16,354 77.46% No Init Direct Primary Nominating Convention Law 3 Yes 43,316 40,198 51.87% No Init Local Option Liquor law

1906 + 1906 General Electionmeas.num passed Yesvotes Novotes %Yes Const.Amd.? Type description 1 Yes 43,918 26,758 62.14% No Ref Shall act appropriating money maintaining Insane Asylum, Penitentiary, Deaf-Mute, Blind School, university, Agricultural College, and Normal Schools be approved 2 No 36,902 47,075 43.94% Yes Init Equal Suffrage Constitutional Amendment 3 No 35,297 45,144 43.88% No Init Amendment to local option law giving anti-prohibitionists and prohibitionists equal privileges 4 No 31,525 44,527 41.45% No Init Law to abolish tolls on the Mount Hood and Barlow Road and providing for its ownership by the State 5 Yes 47,661 18,751 71.77% Yes Init Constitutional amendment providing method of amending constitution and applying the referendum to all laws affecting constitutional conventions and amendments 6 Yes 52,567 19,852 72.59% Yes Init Constitutional amendment giving cities and towns exclusive power to enact and amend their charters 7 Yes 63,749 9,571 86.95% Yes Init Constitutional amendment to allow the state printing, binding, and Printers' compensation to be regulated by law at any time 8 Yes 47,678 16,735 74.02% Yes Init Constitutional amendment for the initiative and referendum on local, special, and municipal laws and parts of laws 9 Yes 57,281 16,779 77.34% No Init Bill for a law prohibiting free passes and discrimination by railroad companies and other public service corporations 10 Yes 69,635 6,441 91.53% No Init An act requiring sleeping car companies, refrigerator car companies, and oil companies to pay an annual license upon gross earnings 11 Yes 70,872 6,360 91.77% No Init An act requiring express companies, telegraph companies, and telephone companies to pay an annual license upon gross earnings

1908 + 1908 General Electionmeas.num passed Yesvotes Novotes %Yes Const.Amd.? Type description 1 No 19,691 68,892 22.23% Yes Leg To Increase Compensation of Legislators from $120 to $400 Per Session 2 Yes 41,975 40,868 50.67% Yes Leg Permitting Location of State Institutions at Places Other than the State Capitol 3 No 30,243 50,591 37.41% Yes Leg Reorganization System of Courts and Increasing the Number of Supreme Judges from Three to Five 4 Yes 65,728 18,590 77.95% Yes Leg Changing Date of General Elections from June to November 5 Yes 60,443 30,033 66.81% No Ref Giving Sheriffs Control of County Prisoners 6 No 28,856 59,406 32.69% No Ref Requiring Railroads to Give Public Officials Free Passes 7 No 33,507 54,848 37.92% No Ref Appropriating $100,000 for Building Armories 8 Yes 44,115 40,535 52.11% No Ref Increasing Annual Appropriation for University of Oregon from $47,500 to $125,000 9 No 36,858 58,670 38.58% Yes Init Equal Suffrage 10 Yes 46,582 40,720 53.36% No Init Fishery Law Proposed by Fishwheel Operators 11 No 39,442 52,346 42.97% Yes Init Giving Cities Control of Liquor Selling, Poolrooms, Theaters, etc., subject to local option law 12 No 32,066 60,871 34.50% Yes Init Modified Form of Single Tax Amendment 13 Yes 58,381 31,002 65.32% Yes Init Recall Power on Public Officials 14 Yes 69,668 21,162 76.70% No Init Instructing Legislature to Vote for People Choice for United States Senator (see also Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution) 15 Yes 48,868 34,128 58.88% Yes Init Authorizing Proportional Representation Law 16 Yes 54,042 31,301 63.32% No Init Corrupt Practices Act Governing Elections 17 Yes 56,130 30,280 64.96% No Init Fishery Law Proposed by Gillnet Operators 18 Yes 52,214 28,487 64.70% Yes Init Requiring Indictment to Be By Grand Jury 19 Yes 43,948 26,778 62.14% No Init Creating Hood River County

1910s + 1910 General Electionmeas.num passed Yesvotes Novotes %Yes Const.Amd.? Type description 1 No 35,270 59,065 37.39% Yes Init Permitting female taxpayers to vote 2 Yes 50,134 41,504 54.71% No Leg Establishing branch Insane Asylum in eastern Oregon 3 No 23,143 59,974 27.84% No Leg Calling Convention to revise State Constitution 4 No 24,000 54,252 30.67% Yes Leg Providing separate districts for election of each State Senator and Representative 5 No 37,619 40,172 48.36% Yes Leg Repealing Requirements That All Taxes Shall Be Equal and Uniform 6 No 32,884 46,070 41.65% Yes Leg Permitting Organized Districts to Vote Bonds for Construction of Railroads by Such Districts 7 No 31,629 41,692 43.14% Yes Leg Authorizing Collection of State and County Taxes on Separate Classes of Property 8 No 13,161 71,503 15.54% No Ref Requiring Baker County to pay $1,000 a year to Circuit Judge in addition to his state salary 9 No 22,866 60,951 27.28% No Init Creating Nesmith County from parts of Lane and Douglas 10 Yes 50,191 40,044 55.62% No Init To establish a state Normal school at Monmouth 11 No 17,426 62,016 21.94% No Init Creating Otis County From Parts of Harney, Malheur and Grant 12 No 16,250 69,002 19.06% No Init Annexing Part of Clackamas County to Multnomah 13 No 14,508 64,090 18.46% No Init Creating Williams County From Parts of Lane and Douglas 14 Yes 44,171 42,127 51.18% Yes Init Permitting People of Each County to Regulate Taxation for County Purposes and Abolishing Poll Taxes 15 Yes 53,321 50,779 51.22% Yes Init Giving Cities and Towns Exclusive Power to Regulate Liquor Traffic Within Their Limits 16 Yes 56,258 33,943 62.37% No Init For Protection of Laborers in Hazardous Employment, Fixing Employers' Liability, etc. 17 No 15,664 62,712 19.99% No Init Creating Orchard County From Part of Umatilla 18 No 15,613 61,704 20.19% No Init Creating Clark County From Part of Grant 19 No 40,898 46,201 46.96% No Init To Establish State Normal School at Weston 20 No 14,047 68,221 17.07% No Init To Annex Part of Washington County to Multnomah 21 No 38,473 48,655 44.16% No Init To Establish State Normal School at Ashland 22 No 43,540 61,221 41.56% Yes Init Prohibiting Liquor Traffic 23 No 42,651 63,564 40.16% No Init Prohibiting the Sale of Liquors and Regulating Shipments of Same, and Providing for Search for Liquor 24 No 32,224 51,719 38.39% No Init Creating Board to Draft Employers' Liability Law for Submission to Legislature 25 Yes 49,712 33,397 59.82% No Init Prohibiting Taking of Fish in Rogue River Except With Hook and Line 26 No 17,592 60,486 22.53% No Init Creating Deschutes County Out of Part of Crook 27 No 37,129 42,327 46.73% No Init Bill for General Law Under Which New Counties May Be Created or Boundaries Changed 28 Yes 51,275 32,906 60.91% Yes Init Permitting Counties to Vote Bonds for Permanent Road Improvement 29 Yes 43,353 41,624 51.02% No Init Permitting Voters in Direct Primaries to Express Choice for President and Vice President, to Select Delegates to National Convention and Nominate Candidates for Presidential Electors 30 No 29,955 52,538 36.31% No Init Creating Board of People's Inspectors of Government, Providing for Reports of Board in Official State Gazette to be Mailed to All Registered Voters Bi-monthly 31 No 37,031 44,366 45.49% Yes Init Extending Initiative and Referendum, Making Term of Members of Legislature Six Years, Increasing Salaries, Requiring Proportional Representation in Legislature, Election of President of Senate and Speaker of House Outside of Members, etc. 32 Yes 44,538 39,399 53.06% Yes Init Permitting Three-Fourths Verdict in Civil Cases

1912