Oregon Measure 7, Equal Protection of Law Initiative (1994)

Oregon Measure 7
Election date November 8, 1994
Topic Constitutional rights and Race and ethnicity issues
Status Defeated
Type Initiated constitutional amendment	Origin Citizens

Oregon Measure 7 was on the ballot as an initiated constitutional amendment in Oregon on November 8, 1994. It was defeated.

A "yes" vote supported prohibiting government from denying equal protection of law due to race, color, religion, gender, age, or national origin.

A "no" vote opposed prohibiting government from denying equal protection of law due to race, color, religion, gender, age, or national origin.

Election results

Oregon Measure 7
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		512,980	43.33%
No		671,021	56.67%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title for Measure 7 was as follows:

“

AMENDS CONSTITUTION: GUARANTEES EQUAL PROTECTION: LISTS PROHIBITED GROUNDS OF DISCRIMINATION QUESTION: Shall Oregon’s Constitution forbid government from denying equal protection of laws due to race, color, religion, gender, age, national origin?  SUMMARY: This measure would add a new section to the Oregon Constitution’s Bill of Rights. The new section would provide: (1) The equal protection of the laws shall not be denied or abridged by any public entity in this state on account of race, color, religion, gender, age or national origin. (2) The state shall have the power to enforce by appropriate legislation the provisions of this section. ESTIMATE OF FINANCIAL IMPACT: 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: Signature requirements for ballot measures in Oregon

An initiated constitutional amendment is a citizen-initiated ballot measure that amends a state's constitution. Eighteen (18) states allow citizens to initiate constitutional amendments.

In Oregon, the number of signatures required for an initiated constitutional amendment is equal to 8% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election. A simple majority vote is required for voter approval unless the initiative proposes changing vote requirements, then the initiative must be approved by the same supermajority requirement as proposed by the measure.

See also

1994 Measures

• 1994 Measures
• Sex and gender issues on the ballot
• Race and ethnicity issues on the ballot
• Constitutional rights on the ballot
• Religion-related policy on the ballot
• 1994 legislative sessions

Oregon

• Oregon ballot measures
• Oregon ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls

External links

• Oregon Voter Guide (1994)