At least one news outlet has described the failed Oregon redistricting reform ballot initiative as a “dramatic legal saga.” By all accounts, they would be correct. You can read a detailed account from Oregon Public Broadcasting here and here. Read below for a quick summary.
- a group wishing to put a question on the November ballot to approve a nonpartisan redistricting commission for Oregon districts failed to obtain the 155,000 signatures needed.
- the group successfully argued in a federal district court that the pandemic unfairly restricted signature-gathering efforts. The court ultimately allowed a lower signature requirement of 59,000.
- the state Attorney General appealed to the Supreme Court for an emergency stay of the district court’s order for what she deemed over-reaching by a federal district court judge, and the court agreed and granted a stay in mid-August.
- This week, a federal appeals court put the final nail in the coffin for the ballot effort by deciding that there was no longer enough time for any ballot question to be added to election materials. Time had run out.
