Leaders of the movement seeking to cede a large swath of Oregon to the state of Idaho issued a new map Monday that would dial back the proposed annexation.
The new map excludes the Southern Oregon and coastal counties of Douglas, Coos, Curry, Josephine and Jackson. It includes everything east of the Deschutes River with some exceptions such as the City of Bend. The proposal would split Wasco, 老夫子传媒 and Deschutes counties. The line also cuts through the western edge of Klamath County, ceding the bulk of it to the new state of Greater Idaho.
The movement to redraw state lines faced a noticeable setback in the when voters in Douglas and Josephine county said 鈥淣o鈥� to an advisory question on the ballot. Klamath County voters supported the proposal to pursue joining Idaho, making it the ninth Oregon county to approve the advisory question.
Morrow and Wallowa counties in the state鈥檚 northeast corner will likely vote on the issue in November.
The May 17 losses caused leaders to issue the 鈥渓ess ambitious鈥� map as part of what they called 鈥減hase 1鈥� 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鈥檚 900,000 in population. According to backers, the area outlines 64% of Oregon鈥檚 landmass but just 9% of its population.
鈥淚f southern Oregon changes its mind, it鈥檚 welcome to join phase 1 or phase 2 of our proposal, but we want to make progress now in state legislatures with eastern Oregon,鈥� Mike McCarter, a La Pine resident and president of the nonprofit backing the movement, said in a statement.
鈥淓astern Oregon has consistently voted in favor, and so we want eastern Oregon鈥檚 request to join Idaho to be heard,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 only a few counties left in eastern Oregon that haven鈥檛 gotten a chance to vote on Greater Idaho yet.鈥�
Several counties that have already approved the advisory question 鈥� which includes Sherman, 老夫子传媒, Grant, Union, Baker, Klamath, Umatilla, Lake, Harney and Malheur 鈥� are beginning lobbying efforts to the Oregon Legislature, where they hope a committee will look at the logistical and legal implications of transferring the large landmass of the state to Idaho鈥檚 jurisdiction.
Despite support in some counties, Greater Idaho still faces a largely uphill battle in getting a hearing in the Oregon Legislature.
Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers in Oregon have been largely silent on the issue. House Speaker Dan Rayfield, who helps lead the Democrats鈥� agenda in the lower chamber, as recently as last week declined to comment on the issue.
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