2008 Oregon elections

none February 2026 September 2023 2008 Oregon elections Oregon presidential no 2007 Oregon elections 2007 2010 Oregon elections 2010 November 4, 2008 thumb|Oregon's elections are conducted by mail, and are preceded by a mailing of a Voters' Pamphlet like the one pictured here. On November 4, 2008, the U.S. state of Oregon held statewide general elections for three statewide offices (secretary of state, treasurer, and attorney general), both houses of the Oregon Legislative Assembly, and twelve state ballot measures. The primary elections were held on May 20, 2008. Both elections also included national races for President of the US, US Senator, and US House Representatives. Numerous local jurisdictions — cities, counties, and regional government entities — held elections for various local offices and ballot measures on these days as well. 3 Candidates for statewide offices thumb|125px|John Kroger (left) and Ben Westlund arriving at the 2009 State of the State address thumb|right|125px|Allen Alley, candidate for State Treasurer Democrat Kate Brown won the election for Secretary of State. She defeated Rick Metsger, Vicki Walker, and Paul Damian Wells in the Democratic primary. She then won the general election, in which she faced Republican Rick Dancer (who was unopposed in the Republican primary)http://www.oregonlive.com/special/index.ssf/2008/05/secstate.html Brown wins Democratic secretary of state nomination 2008-05-20 OregonLive.com May 20, 2008 and Pacific Green Party nominee Seth Alan Woolley.http://sos.oregon.gov/ Oregon Secretary of State sos.oregon.gov Democrat Ben Westlund won the race for Treasurer. He and Republican Allen Alley were each unopposed in their respective primaries. Constitution Party nominee Michael Marsh was also on the November ballot. Democrat John Kroger was elected Attorney General. He won the Democratic nomination over Greg Macpherson.http://www.oregonlive.com/special/index.ssf/2008/05/ag.html Kroger wins Democratic attorney general nomination 2008-05-21 OregonLive.com May 20, 2008 Kroger also won the Republican nomination since no Republican filed and the most write-in votes—2,885—were for him.http://blog.oregonlive.com/breakingnews/2008/06/kroger_wins_another_attorney_g.html Kroger wins (another) attorney general nomination 2008-06-19 2008-06-20 The Oregonian Three minor party candidates were also on the November ballot: J Ashlee Albies (Oregon Working Families Party), Walter F. Brown (Pacific Green Party), and James E. Leuenberger (Constitution Party of Oregon). Brad Avakian, who was appointed Oregon Commissioner of Labor and Industries in spring 2008, defeated two opponents in his campaign to retain that seat: Pavel Goberman and Mark Welyczko. The position is non-partisan. Oregon Supreme Court Associate Justice Martha Walters won reelection, with no opponent. Oregon Court of Appeals judge Timothy Sercombe did as well. State legislature Oregon legislative elections, 2008 The Democratic Party of Oregon gained five seats in the Oregon House of Representatives, while the Oregon Republican Party gained one seat in the state Senate, the one Democrat Ben Westlund vacated to run for state treasurer. Going into the 2009 legislative session, Democrats will have a 36-member majority in the 60-seat House, and an 18-member majority in the 30-seat Senate. These three-fifths majorities give Democrats exactly the number of votes in each house needed to pass any bills that raise revenue, due to the supermajority requirement in Article IV §25 of Oregon's constitution. Of the 60 races for the House, 39 had both Democratic and Republican candidates; 24 of those were in districts previously represented by Republicans, 15 in districts previously represented by Democrats. Sixteen Democrats had no Republican opponent, and five Republicans had no Democratic opponent. Sixteen of the Senate's 30 seats were up for election. Fifteen are typically slated for general election, but Brad Avakian's seat was opened up when he was appointed state labor commissioner. Nine of the districts were previously held by Democrats, of which four races were contested; seven were currently held by Republicans, of which four were contested. Ballot measures List of Oregon ballot measures Oregonian voters decided on 15 statewide ballot measures in 2008, Measures 51 through 65. May In the May primary election, all three statewide ballot measures, 51, 52, and 53, passed. Measures 51 and 52 amended the Oregon Constitution with regard to crime victims' rights; Measure 53 also amended the state Constitution to modify the limits on property forfeited in criminal cases. All three were legislative referrals. Measures 51 and 52 passed by wide margins, but Measure 53 was extremely close and required a hand recount; it eventually passed with a final official count of 50.03% to 49.97%. http://records.sos.state.or.us/ORSOSWebDrawer/Recordpdf/6873621 State Measure 53 Automatic Recount Certification Oregon State Elections Division 2008-07-11 October 11, 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20191011223539/http://records.sos.state.or.us/ORSOSWebDrawer/Recordpdf/6873621 dead Measure 51 2008 Oregon Ballot Measure 51 Amends constitution: Enables crime victims to enforce existing constitutional rights in prosecutions, delinquency proceedings; authorizes implementing legislation. right|275px Measure 51 744195 249143 58.3 Measure 52 2008 Oregon Ballot Measure 52 Amends constitution: Enables crime victims to enforce existing constitutional rights in prosecutions, delinquency proceedings; authorizes implementing legislation. right|275px Measure 52 738092 247738 58.3 Measure 53 2008 Oregon Ballot Measure 53 Amends constitution: Modifies provisions governing civil forfeitures related to crimes; permits use of proceeds by law enforcement. right|275px Measure 53 490158 489477 58.3 November In November 2008, voters considered eight initiatives, 58 through 65, and four legislative referrals, 54 through 57.August 1, 2008 News Release - Assignment of Measure Numbers for 2008 General Election from the Oregon Secretary of State Elections Division Measures 54, 55, 56, and 62 were amendments to the Oregon Constitution. The four referrals all passed, and the initiatives all failed. Detailed information on these measureshttp://records.sos.state.or.us/ORSOSWebDrawer/Record?q=recTitle:2008+general+And+recTitle:pamphlet&sortBy=recCreatedOn- HP Records Manager WebDrawer - Search Results records.sos.state.or.us and official resultshttp://records.sos.state.or.us/ORSOSWebDrawer/Recordpdf/6873598 HP Records Manager WebDrawer - 2008 General Election Official Results records.sos.state.or.us October 11, 2019 September 4, 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200904091529/http://records.sos.state.or.us/ORSOSWebDrawer/Recordpdf/6873598 dead are available from the Oregon Secretary of State Elections Division. Measure 54 2008 Oregon Ballot Measure 54 Amends constitution: Standardized voting eligibility for school board elections with other state and local elections. Repealed the unenforceable state constitutional provision that only people 21 years of age or older can vote in school board elections. right|275px Measure 54 1194173 450979 85.7 Measure 55 2008 Oregon Ballot Measure 55 Amends constitution: Changes operative date of redistricting plans; allows affected legislators to finish term in original district. right|275px Measure 55 1251478 364993 85.7 Measure 56 2008 Oregon Ballot Measure 56 Amends constitution: Provides that May and November property tax elections are decided by majority of voters voting. Repealed the "double majority" rule for these elections enacted by Measure 47 in 1996. right|275px Measure 56 959118 735500 85.7 Measure 57 2008 Oregon Ballot Measure 57 Increases sentences for drug trafficking, theft against elderly and specified repeat property and identity theft crimes; requires addiction treatment for certain offenders. right|275px Measure 57 1058955 665942 85.7 Measure 58 2008 Oregon Ballot Measure 58 Prohibits teaching public school student in language other than English for more than two years. right|275px Measure 58 756903 977696 85.7 Measure 59 2008 Oregon Ballot Measure 59 Creates an unlimited deduction for federal income taxes on individual taxpayers' Oregon income-tax returns. right|275px Measure 59 615894 1084422 85.7 Measure 60 2008 Oregon Ballot Measure 60 Teacher "classroom performance," not seniority, determines pay raises; "most qualified" teachers retained, regardless of seniority. right|275px Measure 60 673296 1070682 85.7 Measure 61 2008 Oregon Ballot Measure 61 Creates mandatory minimum prison sentences for certain theft, identity theft, forgery, drug, and burglary crimes. right|275px Measure 61 848901 887165 85.7 Measure 62 2008 Oregon Ballot Measure 62 Amends constitution: Allocates 15% of lottery proceeds to public safety fund for crime prevention, investigation, prosecution. right|275px Measure 62 674428 1035756 85.7 Measure 63 2008 Oregon Ballot Measure 63 Exempts specified property owners from building permit requirements for improvements valued at/under 35,000 dollars. right|275px Measure 63 784376 928721 85.7 Measure 64 2008 Oregon Ballot Measure 64 Penalizes person, entity for using funds collected with "public resource" (defined) for "political purpose" (defined). right|275px Measure 64 835563 854327 85.7 Measure 65 2008 Oregon Ballot Measure 65 Changes general election nomination processes for major/minor party, independent candidates for most partisan offices. Would have created a blanket primary. right|275px Measure 65 553640 1070580 85.7 Citizens' Initiative Review of 58 Healthy Democracy organized a trial run of the Citizens' Initiative Review process they advocated in September on Ballot measure 58. They brought together a representative cross-section of voters as a citizens' jury to question and hear from advocates, and experts on language education. The panelists then deliberated and reflected together to come up with statements in support (9 panelists) and opposed to (14 panelists) the measure, which are available online and were read out by the panelists at a press conference. Health Democracy advocated for the state to organize such a review of each ballot measure, and include the statements in the voters' pamphlet. '"It was exhausting, but it was exciting to have a group of people with hugely diverse backgrounds and experience listening carefully to both sides and all respectful to one another," said Lorene Wallick'Betsy Hammond, "Citizen panel: Reject limit on bilingual education", The Oregonian, September 26, 2008"Reforming the Initiative Process"August 2019 InternetArchiveBot yes , Think Out Loud, November 13, 2008 See also Seventy-fourth Oregon Legislative Assembly References External links Video debate of Oregon ballot measures from the Brown Club of Oregon Oregon Category:Oregon elections by year