Oregon Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade announced on Aug. 8 that six Republican senators who participated in a walkout during the 2023 legislative session aren’t allowed to run for reelection in 2024.
Republican legislators pledged to fight the decision in court.
The ruling is the first test of Oregon Ballot Measure 113.
Approved by voters in 2021, the measure is an “initiated constitutional amendment,” that states legislators with 10 or more unexcused absences are barred from appearing on the ballot during the following term.
The measure is intended to prevent tactics such as walkouts, which both parties have used to deny a two-thirds quorum needed to vote on legislation in the state.
Twelve Republicans and one independent senator flaunted the new rules when they boycotted the session in order to block Democratic bills on abortion, transgender services, and gun control.
As the minority party, Republicans said the walkout was the only way to force the majority to compromise on bills they saw as extreme.
The six-week walkout ground the legislative session to a halt and led to compromises but also triggered Measure 113 sanctions.
Four of the disqualified senators have already announced they would run for reelection in 2024 regardless.
They insist that Measure 113 is vulnerable to a legal challenge in federal court, arguing that the measure’s language is vague, that they are eligible for another term in office, and that the measure runs afoul of the First Amendment.
State Senate GOP leader Tim Knopp, who is among those being sanctioned, quickly vowed to challenge the decision.
Parsing the Language
In announcing her decision to enforce the measure, Ms. Griffin-Valade said she relied on legal advice her office had received from the Oregon Department of Justice.“It is clear voters intended Measure 113 to disqualify legislators from running for reelection if they had 10 or more unexcused absences in a legislative session,” she wrote in a press release.
“My decision honors the voters’ intent by enforcing the measure the way it was commonly understood when Oregonians added it to our state constitution.”
But Republicans claim that the measure’s ambiguous wording would actually disqualify them from running in 2028, not 2024.
The measure states that 10 or more unexcused absences “shall disqualify the member from holding office as a senator or representative for the term following the election after the member’s current term is completed.”
The next election is in November 2024. But any Republican senator running for reelection in 2024 is currently serving a term that doesn’t end until December 2024. So their terms wouldn’t be “complete” before the election.
Republicans argue that it means the “election after the member’s current term is completed” would actually be in 2028.
Ms. Griffin-Valade disagreed.
She cited the measure’s wording in the voters’ pamphlet, which said the measure disqualifies legislators “from holding term of office after the legislator’s current term ends.”
A Retaliatory Tally
In addition to disputing the timeline, Republicans take issue with how Mr. Wagner, a Democrat, tallied the unexcused absences.“The Senate President has sole authority in determining whether an absence is unexcused and does not need to give any form of explanation,” Mr. Knopp wrote. His statement claims that unexcused absences were marked based on “arbitrary, capricious, and retaliatory” actions by Mr. Wagner.
“After repeated unlawful and unconstitutional actions by President Rob Wagner and other Democrat leaders in the 2023 session, Senate Republicans held them accountable by peacefully pausing the session to gain compliance with Senate Rules, Oregon Law, and the Oregon Constitution,” he wrote.
“In retaliation, Wagner was quick to impose unexcused absences on members who challenged his failed leadership.”
State Sen. Dennis Linthicum said he will join the legal challenge and will file to run in September regardless of the secretary of state’s pronouncement.
“Measure 113 is unconstitutional and could be challenged all the way to the Supreme Court,” Mr. Linthicum told The Epoch Times.
“Essentially, we have the Democrat majority ‘disqualifying’ the best of their opposition. The minority was simply trying to bring negotiators to the table. How can that disqualify them from holding office?”
State Sen. Cedric Hayden previously indicated that he would also consider filing suit.
Mr. Hayden, who attends church and cares for his children on the weekends, previously filed complaints with legislative officials and the state’s Bureau of Labor and Industries, alleging that Mr. Wagner’s refusal to excuse him on weekends amounts to discrimination and unequal treatment.
Mr. Hayden was out of the country when the secretary of state’s ruling was issued and couldn’t be reached for comment.
