UNST Portland - Batchelder: Oregon Cities and Counties
About Ballot Measures & Direct Democracy
In the state of Oregon, ballot measures fall into one of three categories:
- initiative,
- referendum, or
- referral.
Initiative and referendum measures are brought forth to a vote if supporters gather enough qualifying signatures from Oregon voters to place the item on the ballot. In this sense, ballot measures in Oregon provide voters with unique opportunities to change the law. This is called direct democracy. Oregon is one of 24 states in the United States that operates with direct democracy.
Referral ballot measures are those that originate from the state legislature.
References:
Doerr, N. 2013. Direct Democracy. The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social and Political Movements.
Oregon State Bar. 2015. Democracy in Action.
Oregon Elections
- Oregon Secretary of State - Elections DivisionFind Election results, register to vote, and more.
- Campaign Finance Database - Oregon Secretary of StateSearch the public database of campaign finance in Oregon. Search by measure/petition, transactions, certificates, filings, and more.
- Oregon Elections Statistical DataHistorical data on elections.
- Oregon Blue Book : Election HistoryElection history of Oregon. Includes pdf images of individual measures.
Oregon's Electoral Districts
- State of Oregon Redistricting InformationAccess maps from the Oregon State Legislature.
Portland Metro Area Districts
- Clackamas County - ElectionsFind precincts from the County Elections page.
Government Documents
Propositions & Ballot Measures
- Ballot Measures DatabaseFrom the National Conference of State Legislatures. Each entry contains the ballot number, title, type (legislative referendum, initiative, popular referendum, other), status, and summary. Covers all states and goes back as far as 1902.
Metro Area County Elections Info
Books
- Government, Oregon-Style, 1997-99 byCall Number: JK9016 .M35 1997ISBN: 0918832047Publication Date: 1997-10-01
- Oregon Politics and Government byCall Number: JK9016 .O74 2005ISBN: 9780803215313Publication Date: 2005-07-01
- To the Promised Land byCall Number: JK9016 .M36 2012ISBN: 9780870716577Publication Date: 2012-05-10