Oregon Ballot Measure 115

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Ballot Measure 115
Flag of Oregon.svg
Impeachment of Elected State Executives Amendment: Authorizes impeachment of statewide elected officials by Oregon Legislature with two-thirds vote by each House; establishes process.
Results
Choice
Votes %
Check-71-128-204-brightblue.svgYes1,340,83764.20%
Light brown x.svgNo747,54335.80%
2024 Oregon ballot measure 115 results map by county.svg
Results by county

Oregon Ballot Measure 115, entitled the Impeachment of Elected State Executives Amendment, was a proposed amendment to the Constitution of Oregon that was decided by voters as part of the 2024 Oregon elections on November 5, 2024. [1] [2] As approved by voters, it amends the state Constitution to grant the Oregon State Legislature the power to impeach and remove statewide elected officials in the Executive branch of the Oregon state government: the Oregon Governor, Oregon Secretary of State, Oregon Attorney General, Oregon State Treasurer, and Oregon Commissioner of Labor and Industries. [3] [4]

Contents

Background

On May 1, 2023, then Oregon secretary of state Shemia Fagan announced that she would resign following reporting from Willamette Week that she had been working as a private consultant for the owners of La Mota, a cannabis dispensary chain operating in Oregon, while the Audits Division, which reported to Fagan, worked on an audit of the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission. [5] Fagan's resignation followed calls from Republican leaders in both chambers of the Oregon State Legislature for her to resign and occurred after Governor Tina Kotek launched an ethics investigation into Fagan's actions. Over a month after Fagan's resignation, each house of the Oregon Legislature voted unanimously to send the proposed impeachment referral to voters for the 2024 general election. [6] [7]

As of 2024, Oregon was the only state without an impeachment doctrine enshrined in its state Constitution. [8] The only mechanism Oregon had for removing elected officials from office is recall, a process that has never in Oregon's history been successful at removing a governor or other statewide elected official. [9]

Proponents of the measure argue that it is needed to expedite the removal of a statewide official for malfeasance and to give state legislators a mechanism for doing so that can be utilized by legislators in all other states. Oregon Rep. Jami Cate, a Lebanon Republican, cited the past ethics violations of previous elected officials, including Fagan, as evidence that this is a tool needed by the state legislature. [10] Opponents argue that the current recall system is already sufficient and that voters should retain the right to remove officials that they themselves elected. [11]

Provisions

Under the amendment, grounds for impeachment would be "malfeasance or corrupt conduct in office, willful neglect of statutory or constitutional duty or other felony or high crime." The measure would require a two-thirds supermajority vote of the Oregon House of Representatives to impeach a statewide elected official. If successfully impeached, the chief justice of the Oregon Supreme Court would preside over a trial in the Oregon State Senate. After the conclusion of the trial, a vote of the state senators would be held on conviction of the official and would require another two-thirds supermajority vote to convict. [10]

Polling

Poll sourceDate(s)

administered

Sample

size [a]

Margin

of error

For Measure 115Against Measure 115Undecided
Public Policy Polling (D) [12] [b] October 16–17, 2024716 (LV)± 3.7%53%24%22%
  1. ↑ Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear
  2. ↑ This poll was sponsored by the Northwest Progressive Institute

Results

Vote tallies by county:

CountyYesVotesNoVotesTotal
Baker 47.864,39252.144,7859,177
Benton 67.0731,81432.9315,62347,437
Clackamas 63.81143,55336.1981,405224,958
Clatsop 62.2213,38937.788,13021,519
Columbia 57.4016,93242.6012,56629,498
Coos 54.5718,24645.4315,19333,439
Crook 49.437,66750.577,84515,512
Curry 53.857,09446.156,08013,174
Deschutes 63.4175,99736.5943,861119,858
Douglas 48.2728,19351.7330,21158,404
Gilliam 42.5045957.506211,080
Grant 40.461,69559.542,4944,189
Harney 41.661,68058.342,3534,033
Hood River 69.728,26030.283,58811,848
Jackson 54.1360,62045.8751,360111,980
Jefferson 52.705,86147.305,26111,122
Josephine 41.1918,85358.8126,91745,770
Klamath 50.6916,84649.3116,38633,232
Lake 45.301,80754.702,1823,989
Lane 64.21126,11435.7970,280196,394
Lincoln 62.7417,48037.2610,38327,863
Linn 54.6636,84545.3430,56367,408
Malheur 55.435,77744.574,64610,423
Marion 60.5689,60139.4458,342147,943
Morrow 45.452,03254.552,4394,471
Multnomah 80.28303,17619.7274,484377,660
Polk 57.3125,73542.6919,16744,902
Sherman 58.9765141.034531,104
Tillamook 58.638,90241.376,28215,184
Umatilla 59.3717,33840.6311,86329,201
Union 48.906,75751.107,06213,819
Wallowa 47.992,31752.012,5114,828
Wasco 56.337,04343.675,46012,503
Washington 70.38196,79529.6282,821279,616
Wheeler 40.6733859.33493831
Yamhill 56.6130,57843.3923,43354,011

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Bourgeois, Michaela (August 2, 2024). "Oregon voters to decide on 5 ballot measures in 2024 November election". KOIN . Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  2. ↑ Fuentes, Carlos (October 13, 2024). "Election 2024: Your guide to Oregon's November election". The Oregonian . Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  3. ↑ "Voters' Pamphlet General Election 2024 for Clackamas County" (PDF). Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  4. ↑ Land, Joni Auden (October 1, 2024). "Measure 115 would give Oregon the power to impeach state officials". Oregon Public Broadcasting . Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  5. ↑ Peel, Sophie (April 27, 2023). "Secretary of State Shemia Fagan Is Working as Private Consultant to Troubled Cannabis Couple". Willamette Week. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  6. ↑ Peel, Sophie (April 28, 2023). "Top Republican Leaders Say Fagan Must Resign Over Moonlighting Gig for Cannabis Company". Willamette Week. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  7. ↑ VanderHart, Dirk (April 28, 2023). "Kotek demands ethics investigation following Shemia Fagan revelations; Fagan says she welcomes the inquiries". Oregon Public Broadcasting. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  8. ↑ Lugo, Dianne (September 15, 2024). "Oregon election guide: These 5 ballot measures will be decided in November". Statesman Journal . Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  9. ↑ Green, Aimee (September 24, 2024). "Oregon is the only state where lawmakers can't impeach statewide office holders. Will voters change that with Measure 115?". The Oregonian. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  10. 1 2 Lugo, Dianne (October 6, 2024). "What is Ballot Measure 115? Voters to decide new Oregon impeachment law". Statesman Journal. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  11. ↑ "Measure 115:Impeachment of Elected State Executives". Oregon Capital Chronicle. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  12. ↑ Villeneuve, Andrew (October 24, 2024). "Oregon voters are split on ranked choice voting initiative, while poised to reject rebate plan and accept constitutional changes". Northwest Progressive Institute. Retrieved November 3, 2024.
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