Over a dozen Republican Oregon state senators were disqualified from reelection because of a measure aimed at stopping excessive walkouts.
The Oregon secretary of state pledged to uphold the referendum on Tuesday that was passed by voters in 2022, certifying that lawmakers with more than 10 unexcused absences could not seek reelection the following term.
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“My decision honors the voters’ intent by enforcing the measure the way it was commonly understood when Oregonians added it to our state constitution,” Oregon Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade said about Measure 113.
Republicans have pushed back on the measure, claiming the wording is unclear and therefore shouldn't bar them from running for office in 2024.
The longest walkout in Oregon's legislative history started in May when Republican members opposed Democratic legislation that covered topics of abortion and gun control. State Senate Republican leader Tim Knopp, a leader in the walkout, told the Washington Examiner in a past interview that GOP members opposed the bills because a number of them failed to meet the criteria under the Flesch test, which scores legislation based on the reading level of a text.
Oregon Republicans have a long history of walkouts over the years related to Democratic-backed legislation, boycotting various issues from climate legislation to tax plans in 2019, 2020, and 2021.
According to the title's language, an excessive failure to attend sessions by senators or representatives disqualifies them from running “for the term following the election after the member’s current term is completed.”
Some GOP lawmakers are arguing that they interpret the measure to mean they can run in 2024 because their current terms are scheduled to end in January 2025. The next election after their terms expire would be in 2028.
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“It appears from the unambiguous text, that if they are to be disqualified from holding the office of Senator, it would be for the term that begins in January of 2029,” lawyers for Knopp and state Sen. Brian Boquist wrote to acting Oregon Secretary of State Cheryl Myers in May.
However, Griffin-Valade stated Tuesday that she found no suggestion “that the measure was understood or intended to allow absent legislators to serve an additional term after accumulating too many absences, and then be disqualified the term after that.”