The state of Oregon just removed 10 Republican state senators from the ballot this fall over a new law approved by voters in a 2022 referendum.

The law allows the state to remove lawmakers who have more than 10 unexcused floor absences. They created this law to prevent Republicans from doing what they did last year, which was to stage a boycott that allowed them to get concessions from Democrats on gun and abortion legislation.

The state supreme court upheld the removal of these 10 Republicans:

THE FEDERALIST – On Thursday, the Oregon Supreme Court upheld a decision by the state’s chief election official to ban 10 Republican state senators from the ballot this fall for walking out of the legislature to protest bills on abortion, guns, and transgenderism.

“Last year’s boycott lasted six weeks — the longest in state history — and paralyzed the legislative session, stalling hundreds of bills,” the Associated Press reported. If enough lawmakers walk out, they can deny the quorum required to legally pass legislation. Through their walkout, Oregon Republicans extracted concessions from Democrats on bills related to firearm transfers and medical procedures for abortion and transgender-identified people.

Voters approved ballot Measure 113 in 2022, which amended the state constitution to boot lawmakers from the ballot for more than 10 unexcused floor absences. Oregon voters passed Ballot Measure 113 after Republican walkouts in 2019, 2020, and 2021.

“We obviously disagree with the Supreme Court’s ruling,” said GOP Senate Minority Leader Tim Knopp, according to the AP. “But more importantly, we are deeply disturbed by the chilling impact this decision will have to crush dissent.”

As they point out in the article, Democrats have staged boycotts like this in multiple states over the years. They’ve even tried it in Washington DC.

But a law like this does exactly what the Republican Senate Minority Leader says, it crushes dissent. Which was the goal of the law and why they are trying to use similar targets on Trump.