Idaho’s borders could change if a group of frustrated Oregonians gets their way.
Some rural Oregon residents created a petition demanding that the eastern half of the state, along with parts of Northern California and eastern Washington, be allowed to join Idaho to avoid the liberal politics of their states. The group, “Greater Idaho,” has been working county-by-county to get a ballot proposition that would allow a vote on allowing the areas to detach from their current states.
Mike McCarter, one of the group’s organizers, said in a statement posted to Facebook, “Rural counties have become increasingly outraged by laws coming out of the Oregon Legislature that threaten our livelihoods, our industries, our wallet, our gun rights, and our values. We tried voting those legislators out but rural Oregon is outnumbered and our voices are now ignored. This is our last resort.”
If the initiative lands on the ballot and is confirmed by the voters, the regions would not automatically become part of Idaho. The state borders must first be approved by interstate legislation between the two legislatures and then receive final approval from Congress. The petitions would only require the counties to cooperate with any effort to change state borders.
“Ordinary voters in rural Oregon will show that they don’t want to be ruled from Salem anymore. Convincing the state to let these counties go is the second step. And we believe that together, we can convince the state,” McCarter said.
Valerie Gottschalk, another chief petitioner for the group, added, “People here would prefer Idaho’s conservative governance to the progressive/liberal current Oregon governance. Every time I look at the Facebook group Greater Idaho, the group has gotten bigger.”
Oregon has a Democratic House, Senate, and governor while Idaho has just the opposite with a Republican legislature and governor. The last time a state’s borders changed was in 1961 when the borders between Minnesota and North Dakota were adjusted.
Conservatives in Oregon are not the first to think of adjusting borders to escape the reach of an undesired party. Several Virginia counties have floated the idea of joining West Virginia after Democrats gained control of the legislature and started proposing stringent gun control bills.
