Nearly every proposed Oregon initiative won't make it onto the November ballot
Oregonians proposed nearly 90 changes to state law or the Oregon Constitution for the November 2026 ballot, and a dozen of those petitions with priorities ranging from ending mail voting to enshrining civil rights for women and LGBTQ+ people in the state constitution cleared an initial hurdle.
But with a looming July 2 deadline to submit tens of thousands of voter signatures that demonstrate support for their ideas, most of those petitions won’t move forward. From attempts to eliminate the state estate tax to overturning waterway permits for non-motorized boats, organizers cited not having enough time, volunteers and funding to see their petitions through.
Only one petition is on track — a stark contrast from previous election cycles which saw five ballot measures appear in the November 2024 ballot and four in November 2022. The Oregon Legislature didn’t refer any constitutional amendments or laws to voters this year.
Oregonians seeking to directly change state law or the Oregon Constitution first have to gather 1,000 signatures from voters, get the state attorney general to draft a ballot title and summary and overcome any legal challenges to that title. To place a constitutional amendment on the ballot, petitioners then need more than 156,000 verified signatures from registered Oregon voters. To change state law, petitioners need about 117,000.
https://oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2026/06/29/nearly-every-proposed-oregon-initiative-wont-make-it-onto-the-november-ballot/