Oregon Measure 14, Remove Historical Racial References in Constitution Amendment (2002)
| Oregon Measure 14 | |
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| Election date |
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| Topic Constitutional wording changes and Race and ethnicity issues |
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| Status |
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| Type Legislatively referred constitutional amendment |
Origin |
Oregon Measure 14 was on the ballot as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment in Oregon on November 5, 2002. It was approved.
A "yes" vote supported removing historical racial references, such as “negroes,” “mulattoes” and “whites," from the Oregon Constitution. |
A "no" vote opposed removing historical racial references, such as “negroes,” “mulattoes” and “whites," from the Oregon Constitution. |
Election results
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Oregon Measure 14 |
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| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
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867,901 | 71.14% | ||
| No | 352,027 | 28.86% | ||
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for Measure 14 was as follows:
| “ | AMENDS CONSTITUTION: REMOVES HISTORICAL RACIAL REFERENCES IN OBSOLETE SECTIONS OF OREGON CONSTITUTION, ARTICLE VII (ORIGINAL), ARTICLE XVIII RESULT OF “YES” VOTE: “Yes” vote removes historical racial references in obsolete Sections 2,10,14 of Article Vli (Original), Sections 2, 4, 5, of Article XVIII, Oregon Constitution. RESULT OF “NO” VOTE: “No” vote retains historical racial references in obsolete Sections 2,10,14, of Article VII (Original), Sections 2, 4, 5, of Article XVIII, Oregon Constitution. SUMMARY: Legislative referral. Amends constitution. Currently, Oregon Constitution, Article VII (Original) (rendered obsolete by Article VII (Amended) and statutes enacted by Legislative Assembly) provides historical threshold for expanding number of Supreme Court Justices on basis of "white” population. Measure removes references in sections 2, 10, 14, to “white” inhabitants and “white population.” Currently, Article XVIII, Section 2 lists questions for 1857 election regarding ratification of Oregon Constitution; Section 4 lists proposed text for 1857 election to adopt provision in Bill of Rights excluding “negroes” and mulattoes” (adopted in 1857 election; repealed in 1925); Section 5 provides for initial legislative apportionment based on county. Measure removes references in Sections 2 and 4 to “negroes” and “mulattoes”; removes Section 5 reference to “white” inhabitants. Corrects misspelled words. ESTIMATE OF FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no financial effect on state or local government expenditures or revenues | ” |
Full Text
The full text of this measure is available here.
Path to the ballot
- See also: Amending the Oregon Constitution
A simple majority vote is required during one legislative session for the Oregon State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 31 votes in the Oregon House of Representatives and 16 votes in the Oregon State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.
See also
External links
Footnotes
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State of Oregon Salem (capital) |
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