Greater Idaho movement

The Greater Idaho movement is an activist effort to transfer counties in eastern Oregon into Idaho. Eastern Oregon is relatively rural and conservative compared to more heavily populated liberal western urban areas which have a majority in the Oregon Legislative Assembly. Idaho is relatively conservative overall compared to Oregon, motivating some conservatives in eastern Oregon to agitate for switching jurisdictions.[1]

As of November 2022, eleven counties in Oregon (shown in red) had approved ballot measures in favor of Greater Idaho.

In 2020, the group called "Move Oregon's Border for a Greater Idaho" proposed breaking off most of Oregon's area and some of Northern California and join it with Idaho. Even if passed by voters, it would still need approval from both state legislatures as well as the Federal government.[2][3][4][5][6] In 2021, five counties in eastern Oregon voted to "require county officials to take steps to promote" adding the counties to Idaho.[7] In May 2022, voters in Douglas and Josephine counties rejected an advisory vote, causing the proponents to scale back the scope of the proposal and issue a "less ambitious" map. The reduced scope includes only eastern Oregon, does not include any California territory, and only includes a little more than a third of the original map’s inhabitants.

As of November 2022, eleven counties in Oregon had approved ballot measures in favor of Greater Idaho: Baker, Grant, Harney, Jefferson, Klamath, Lake, Malheur, Morrow, Sherman, Union, and Wheeler.[8][9]

In February, 2023, the House State Affairs committee of the Idaho House of Representatives approved a resolution to authorize the legislature to discuss moving the state border with Oregon lawmakers.[10] This was subsequently passed by the House.[11]

The drug policy of Oregon is relatively permissive, including the legalization of recreational marijuana. The Idaho state legislature opposes the rise of marijuana dispensaries in eastern Oregon serving customers from the Boise metro area; by moving the border further west it could increase the travel time to the nearest dispensaries (currently about an hour).[1]

See also

References
  1. Kirk Siegler (April 1, 2023). "State line pot shops latest flashpoint in Idaho-Oregon border debate". NPR.
  2. "Some Oregonians Want To Leave And Take Part Of The State To Idaho With Them". NPR. Washington, D.C. February 24, 2020. Archived from the original on February 25, 2020. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
  3. "Ballot-initiative effort to move eastern Oregon counties to Idaho gains momentum; leader calls it 'peaceful revolution'". The Oregonian. Portland, Oregon. February 17, 2020. Archived from the original on February 26, 2020. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
  4. Merzbach, Hanna (November 9, 2020). "Movement to form 'Greater Idaho' gains steam as two rural Oregon counties vote to consider joining Idaho". KGW8 News. Archived from the original on November 10, 2020. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  5. Sahakian, Teny (2020-11-18). "Rural Oregon counties vote to discuss seceding from state to join 'Greater Idaho'". Fox News. Archived from the original on November 19, 2020. Retrieved 2020-11-19.
  6. "Idaho lawmakers hear pitch to absorb three-fourths of Oregon". The Oregonian. Associated Press. April 12, 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  7. Oregonian/OregonLive, Douglas Perry | The (2021-05-19). "More Oregon counties vote to consider joining Idaho, part of rural effort to 'gain political refuge from blue states'". oregonlive. Retrieved 2021-05-20.
  8. Sierra, Antonio (9 November 2022). "Greater Idaho ballot measures pass in two more Oregon counties". OPB. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  9. https://www.opb.org/article/2022/05/23/greater-idaho-movement-scales-back-plan-for-oregon-annexation/ "The May 17 losses caused leaders to issue the “less ambitious” map as part of what they called "phase 1" of their project. The reduced scope includes only 14 counties representing around 386,000 Oregonians, a little more than a third of the original map’s 900,000 in population. According to backers, the area outlines 64% of Oregon’s landmass but just 9% of its population."
  10. "Greater Idaho push moves to House floor". Boise State Public Radio. 2023-02-13. Retrieved 2023-02-14.
  11. Corbin, Clark (15 February 2023). "Idaho House passes nonbinding measure calling for formal 'Greater Idaho' talks". Idaho Capital Sun. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
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