A growing movement to redraw state borders is gaining momentum in liberal Oregon, where thirteen counties have now voted in favor of measures to start negotiations to secede from the state and join conservative Idaho. The latest county to approve the “Greater Idaho Measure” was Crook County, following a vote on Tuesday.
The ambitious proposal seeks to “move the Oregon border 200 miles to the west,” effectively transferring 14 counties and several partial counties from Oregon to Idaho’s jurisdiction. Organizers behind the Greater Idaho movement argue that east Oregonians are being alienated by the state’s leftist policies, which they blame for high “crime” rates.
“The Oregon/Idaho line was established 163 years ago and is now outdated,” the movement’s website states. “It makes no sense in its current location because it doesn’t match the location of the cultural divide in Oregon. We want an economy that is not held back by Oregon regulations and taxes, including environmental regulations. We’ll still have federal and Idaho regulations, and that’s plenty. Idaho knows how to respect rural counties and their livelihoods.”
In Crook County, Measure 7-86 passed with 53 percent support, providing another boost to the Greater Idaho campaign. However, the vote is not legislatively binding and merely signifies residents’ desire to inform state and federal representatives of their support for annexation negotiations.
“The voters of eastern Oregon have spoken loudly and clearly about their desire to see border talks move forward,” said Greater Idaho Executive Director Matt McCaw. “With this latest result in Crook County, there’s no excuse left for the Legislature and Governor to continue to ignore the people’s wishes. We call on the Governor, Speaker of the House, and Senate President to sit down with us and discuss next steps towards changing governance for eastern Oregonians, as well as for the legislature to begin holding hearings on what a potential border change will look like.”
President Mike McCarter added, “For the last three years we’ve been going directly to voters and asking them what they want for their state government. What they’re telling us through these votes is that they want their leaders to move the border. In our system, the people are the ones in charge, and it’s time for the leaders representing them to follow through.”
The push for secession comes amid frustration with Oregon’s progressive policies, such as the controversial 2021 law known as Measure 110, which scrapped criminal penalties for drug possession. The measure, which was recently reversed by Governor Tina Kotek, proved ineffective, with more than 95 percent of citations going ignored.
According to NewsNation, “a recent poll found that people in Idaho also strongly support the proposal” to absorb parts of Oregon. Similar secession initiatives have been proposed elsewhere, including in Texas, where “last year a state senator introduced a bill to allow for a vote on Texit.” Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene “tweeted that the US needed a ‘divorce’ between blue and red states” in 2022.