The Greater Idaho movement is an effort in the United States for counties east of the Oregon Cascades [1] to secede from the state of Oregon and join Idaho. [2] [3] [4] It is primarily led by conservative dissatisfaction with the liberal lean of a small but more heavily populated region of Oregon, driven by the Portland area and other cities in the Willamette Valley; proponents argue that the rural eastern counties have more in common with Idaho, and aren't adequately represented in Oregon's state politics.
For this change to be accomplished legally, under current laws it would require approval by local voters via ballot measures, followed by approval from the state legislatures of both Oregon and Idaho, as well as the federal Congress. [5] [6]
As of July 2024, thirteen counties in Oregon had approved ballot measures in favor of Greater Idaho: Baker, Crook, Grant, Harney, Jefferson, Klamath, Lake, Malheur, Morrow, Sherman, Union, Wallowa, and Wheeler. [7] [8]
Eastern Oregon is relatively rural and conservative, compared to the more heavily populated and politically liberal north-western corner of Oregon. Those same north-western urban areas have a majority in the Oregon Legislative Assembly. Idaho is largely conservative compared to Oregon, motivating some conservatives in eastern Oregon to advocate for relocating the border. [9] Oregon governor Tina Kotek acknowledged the movement in 2023 saying, "I think there are a lot of Oregonians who are frustrated and don’t feel heard. That, I think, is what the movement is about." [10]
Per Article IV, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution:
New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new States shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress.
A number of state laws differ dramatically between Oregon and Idaho. [11] Abortion access is starkly different, with Idaho banning nearly all abortions while Oregon imposes no legal restrictions. Tax policy is different, as Idaho charges a 6% sales tax, while Oregon does not impose a state sales tax. Minimum wage differs between the two states, too. Drug laws differ, as like most of the West, Oregon has legalized recreational marijuana, while Idaho still criminalizes possession. The Idaho state legislature opposes the rise of marijuana dispensaries in eastern Oregon serving customers from the Boise metro area; by moving the border further west, it would increase the travel time to the nearest dispensaries. [9]
In 2020, the group called "Move Oregon's Border for a Greater Idaho" proposed breaking off most of Oregon's area and some of Northern California and join it with Idaho. In 2021, five counties in eastern Oregon voted to "require county officials to take steps to promote" adding the counties to Idaho. [12] As of May 2024, thirteen counties in Oregon had approved ballot measures in favor of Greater Idaho: Baker, Crook, Grant, Harney, Jefferson, Klamath, Lake, Malheur, Morrow, Sherman, Union, Wallowa, and Wheeler. [13] [14]
In May 2022, voters in Douglas and Josephine counties rejected proposals to join, causing the proponents to scale back the scope of the proposal and issue a "less ambitious" map that excludes Southern Oregon west of Klamath County. The reduced scope includes only Oregon’s eastern territory save for small portions of Deschutes and Wasco counties. The latest map only covers about one third of the originally targeted areas. The majority of the remaining inhabitants live in Umatilla County, which is home to Hermiston and Pendleton, the two largest cities in the region.
In February 2023, the House State Affairs committee of the Idaho House of Representatives approved a resolution to authorize the legislature to discuss moving the state border with Oregon lawmakers. [15] This was subsequently passed by the Idaho House of Representatives. [16] A similar bill was introduced in the Oregon State Senate; Senate President Rob Wagner stated that it was unlikely that the bill would move forward in the 2023 session. [17] In May 2023, Wallowa County approved a ballot measure in favor of Greater Idaho by just seven votes. [18] [19]
As of February 2024, Gilliam County and Umatilla County have yet to entertain the concept on the ballot. [20]
On May 21, 2024, Crook County voted in favor of Measure 7-86 advising the Crook County Court that voters supported continued negotiations regarding relocating the Oregon–Idaho border to include Crook County within the Idaho border. [21] [22] This makes it the 13th county in Oregon that has passed a similar ballot measure resulting in the majority of Counties in the proposed Greater Idaho map having voted in favor. A measure repealing the Malheur County ordinance that requires Malheur County Court to meet three times a year on moving the Oregon–Idaho border was rejected in the November 2024 elections. [23] [24] In Baker County, where similar meetings on the Oregon-Idaho border are held every year, a measure allowing the commissioners to hold meetings only when deemed necessary was also rejected. [24]
Date | County | Support | Oppose | Ballot measure | Ref. | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | % | No. | % | ||||
November 3, 2020 | Douglas | 26,981 | 43.32% | 35,297 | 56.68% | 10-180 | [25] |
November 3, 2020 | Jefferson | 5,757 | 50.90% | 5,553 | 49.10% | 16-96 | [26] |
November 3, 2020 | Union | 7,435 | 52.40% | 6,753 | 47.60% | 31-101 | [27] |
November 3, 2020 | Wallowa | 2,478 | 49.59% | 2,519 | 50.41% | 32-003 | [28] |
May 18, 2021 | Baker | 3,346 | 57.49% | 2,474 | 42.51% | 1-104 | [29] |
May 18, 2021 | Grant | 1,471 | 62.15% | 896 | 37.85% | 12-77 | [30] |
May 18, 2021 | Lake | 1,510 | 74.64% | 513 | 25.36% | 19-35 | [31] |
May 18, 2021 | Malheur | 3,059 | 54.13% | 2,592 | 45.87% | 23-64 | [32] |
May 18, 2021 | Sherman | 430 | 62.32% | 260 | 37.68% | 28-46 | [33] |
November 2, 2021 | Harney | 1,583 | 63.22% | 921 | 36.78% | 13-18 | [34] |
May 17, 2022 | Douglas | 16,791 | 47.37% | 18,659 | 52.63% | 10-185 | [35] |
May 17, 2022 | Josephine | 13,619 | 48.70% | 14,344 | 51.30% | 17-106 | [36] |
May 17, 2022 | Klamath | 9,649 | 57.00% | 7,278 | 43.00% | 18-121 | [37] |
November 8, 2022 | Morrow | 2,386 | 60.7% | 1,546 | 39.3% | 25-88 | [38] |
November 8, 2022 | Wheeler | 472 | 58.56% | 334 | 41.44% | 35-29 | [39] |
May 16, 2023 | Wallowa | 1,752 | 50.10% | 1,745 | 49.90% | 32-007 | [40] |
May 21, 2024 | Crook | 5,086 | 53.44% | 4,432 | 46.56% | 7-86 | [41] |
Malheur County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 31,571. Its county seat is Vale, and its largest city is Ontario. The county was named after the Malheur River, which runs through the county. The word "malheur" is French for misfortune or tragedy. Malheur County is included in the Ontario, Oregon Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Boise Combined Statistical Area. It is included in the eight-county definition of Eastern Oregon.
Harney County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,495, making it the sixth-least populous county in Oregon. The county seat is Burns. Established in 1889, the county is named in honor of William S. Harney, a military officer of the period, who was involved in the Pig War and popular in the Pacific Northwest.
Baker County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 16,668. The county seat and largest city is Baker City. The county was organized on September 22, 1862, when a portion of Wasco County was partitioned off. The new county's area was reduced in 1864 when Union County was partitioned off, and again in 1887 when Malheur County was partitioned off. The county's lines were last adjusted in 1901 when a parcel was added to the county.
The State of Jefferson is a proposed U.S. state that would span the contiguous, mostly rural area of southern Oregon and Northern California, where several attempts to separate from Oregon and California, respectively, have taken place. The region encompasses most of Northern California's land but does not include San Francisco or other Bay Area counties that account for the majority of Northern California's population.
Eastern Oregon is a region of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is not an officially recognized geographic entity; thus, the boundaries of the region vary according to context. It is sometimes understood to include only the eight easternmost counties in the state; in other contexts, it includes the entire area east of the Cascade Range. Cities in the basic eight-county definition include Baker City, Burns, Hermiston, Pendleton, Boardman, John Day, La Grande, and Ontario. Umatilla County is home to the largest population base in Eastern Oregon, accounting for 42% of the region's residents — more than twice that of the region’s second most populous, Malheur County. Hermiston, located in Umatilla County, is the largest city in the region, accounting for 10% of the population. Major industries include transportation/warehousing, timber, agriculture and tourism. The main transportation corridors are I-84, U.S. Route 395, U.S. Route 97, U.S. Route 26, U.S. Route 30, and U.S. Route 20.
The Oregon Citizens Alliance (OCA) was a conservative Christian political activist organization, founded by Lon Mabon in the U.S. state of Oregon. It was founded in 1986 as a vehicle to challenge then–U.S. Senator Bob Packwood in the Republican primaries, and was involved in Oregon politics from the late 1980s into the 1990s.
Oregon's 2nd congressional district is the largest of Oregon's six districts, and is the seventh largest district in the nation. It is the second-largest congressional district in the nation that does not cover an entire state, and has been represented by Republican Cliff Bentz of Ontario since 2021.
The Wallowa–Whitman National Forest is a United States National Forest in the U.S. states of Oregon and Idaho. Formed upon the merger of the Wallowa and Whitman national forests in 1954, it is located in the northeastern corner of Oregon, in Wallowa, Baker, Union, Grant, and Umatilla counties, and includes small areas in Nez Perce and Idaho counties in Idaho. The forest is named for the Wallowa band of the Nez Perce people, who originally lived in the area, and Marcus and Narcissa Whitman, Presbyterian missionaries who settled just to the north in 1836. Forest headquarters are located in Baker City, Oregon with ranger districts in La Grande, Joseph and Baker City.
The Independent Party of Oregon (IPO) is a centrist political party in the U.S. state of Oregon with more than 140,000 registrants since its inception in January 2007. The IPO is Oregon's third-largest political party and the first political party other than the Democratic Party and Republican Party to be recognized by the state of Oregon as a major political party.
Oregon Ballot Measure 57 (2008) or Senate Bill (SB) 1087 was a legislatively referred state statute that increased term of imprisonment for persons convicted of specified drug and property crimes under certain circumstances. The measure enacted law which prohibits courts from imposing less than a presumptive sentence for persons convicted of specified drug and property crimes under certain circumstances, and requires the Department of Corrections to provide treatment to certain offenders and to administer grant program to provide supplemental funding to local governments for certain purposes.
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. The 42° north parallel delineates the southern boundary with California and Nevada. The western boundary is formed by the Pacific Ocean.
California, the most populous state in the United States and third largest in area after Alaska and Texas, has been the subject of more than 220 proposals to divide it into multiple states since its admission to the Union in 1850, including at least 27 significant proposals prior to the 21st century.
Ammon Edward Bundy is an American anti-government militant and activist who led the 2016 occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon. He is the son of rancher Cliven Bundy, who was the central figure in the 2014 Bundy standoff in Nevada regarding unpaid grazing fees on federally-owned public land.
Harley James Overturf was an American politician and businessman from the state of Oregon. He was a Republican who served four years in the Oregon House of Representatives, where he represented a large rural district in eastern Oregon. Overturf Butte in Bend, Oregon, is named in his honor.
George Harris Merryman was a country doctor, businessman, and politician from the U.S. state of Oregon. A Republican, he served two non-consecutive terms in the Oregon House of Representatives. In between those terms, he was elected to the Oregon State Senate for one term. In both the house and senate, the districts he represented were large and rural. Merryman was also a pioneer doctor who made house calls by horse and buggy for many years. He later built the first modern hospital in Klamath Falls, Oregon.
Lynn P. Findley is an American politician serving as a member of the Oregon State Senate. He represents the 30th district, which covers much of Eastern Oregon.
The 1932 United States presidential election in Oregon took place on November 8, 1932, as part of the 1932 United States presidential election. Voters chose five representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
A general election was held in the U.S. state of Oregon on November 3, 2020. Primary elections were held on May 19, 2020.
The year 2024 in Oregon involved several major events.
The May 17 losses caused leaders to issue the 'less ambitious' map as part of what they called 'phase 1' of their project. The reduced scope includes only 15 counties representing roughly 386,000 Oregonians, a little more than a third of the original map's 900,000 in population. According to backers, the area outlines 64% of Oregon's landmass but just 9% of its population.
The May 17 losses caused leaders to issue the 'less ambitious' map as part of what they called 'phase 1' of their project. The reduced scope includes only 15 counties representing roughly 386,000 Oregonians, a little more than a third of the original map's 900,000 in population. According to backers, the area outlines 64% of Oregon's landmass but just 9% of its population.