Eastern Oregon is relatively rural and conservative, compared to more heavily populated, more politically liberal western urban areas. Those same 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.[7]Oregon governorTina 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."[8]
A number of state laws differ dramatically between Oregon and Idaho.[9] The drug policy of Oregon is among the most permissive in the nation, including the legalization of recreational marijuana and decriminalization of personal possession of all illicit drugs. 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 could increase the travel time to the nearest dispensaries, which is about an hour.[7] In addition to changes in tax policy and minimum wages, abortion access is also starkly different between the two states, with Idaho having a total ban on abortion while Oregon imposes no legal restrictions by statute.
Timeline
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.[10] 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.[11][12]
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. As of May 2023, Umatilla County has not shown enough interest to place the issue on the ballot.[citation needed]
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.[13] This was subsequently passed by the Idaho House of Representatives.[14] 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.[15] In May 2023, Wallowa County approved a ballot measure in favor of Greater Idaho by just seven votes.[16][17]
As of February 2024, Gilliam County and Umatilla County have yet to entertain the concept on the ballot.[18]
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.[19][20] 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. That same election cycle, Dennis Linthicum, the Oregon state senator who introduced the 2023 bill in the Oregon Legislature, became the Republican nominee for Oregon Secretary of State.
Countywide votes in Oregon to secede and join Idaho
^Stites, Sam (May 24, 2022). "Greater Idaho movement scales back plan for Oregon annexation". Oregon Public Broadcasting. Archived from the original on April 3, 2023. Retrieved April 15, 2024. 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.
