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Oregon leads US with highest voter turnout
Oregon had the highest voter turnout rate in the nation. Learn more here.
For the first time ever, Oregon had the highest voter turnout rate in the nation for last November’s elections.
Former Oregon Secretary of State Phil Keisling, who now leads a national effort to expand voting from home, said 61.5% of all the eligible citizens in Oregon cast a ballot, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported Thursday.
“We edged out Maine by .05%,” he said.
Keisling said Oregon has had a relatively high turnout rate since the state implemented its pioneering vote-by-mail system 25 years ago. He said the numbers have really ramped up…
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Oregon’s new gun laws remain blocked, won’t go into effect early Thursday
Ballot Measure 114 concerning gun laws will not go into effect today. Learn more here.
By Jonathan Levinson (OPB)
Ballot Measure 114 will not become law at 12:01 a.m., Thursday, Dec. 8.
The Oregon Supreme Court on Wednesday denied a state Department of Justice petition asking the court to throw out a lower court’s temporary restraining order blocking the law from taking effect.
Harney County Circuit Court Judge Robert Raschio issued the order Tuesday, saying the law violated the Oregon state constitution’s right to bear arms. Raschio said Oregonians would be “unable to lawfully purchase a firearm or bear a magazine capable…
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Oregon Legislature will have record number of people of color in 2023
In 2023, there will be 17 people of color in Oregon Legislature! Learn more here. By Julia Shumway The Oregon Legislature will again have a Oregon Capital Chroniclerecord number of people of color next year after voters elected five Vietnamese-Americans and a second Indigenous woman.In January 2021, there were 13 people of color in the Legislature. That number will rise to 17 next year, and lawmakers are celebrating the step toward greater diversity while acknowledging that there is more work to be done to make Oregon’s legislative body look more like the state it represents.
The Legislature will remain overwhelmingly…