Oregon Supreme Court to Determine Eligibility of GOP Senators for Reelection After Legislature Boycott

Nine Republican senators and an independent are challenging a voter-approved constitutional amendment barring absentee lawmakers from re-election, arguing it doesn't take immediate effect; oral arguments set for December 14.

• The Oregon Supreme Court will determine whether nine Republican senators and an independent, who had 10 or more unexcused absences during this year's legislative session, are eligible for reelection. This comes after these lawmakers boycotted the Legislature and carried out what is recognized as the longest walkout in the state's history.
• These senators had boycotted legislative sessions to block Democratic bills related to abortion, transgender health care, and guns - preventing a quorum and holding up related bills in the Democrat-led Senate for six weeks.
• This standoff is in response to a 2022 voter-approved constitutional amendment that bars state lawmakers from reelection if they have 10 or more unexcused absences. This amendment was an evident reaction to Republican walkouts in the Legislature which happened consistently over the years 2019, 2020 and 2021.
• Five out of the ten senators who are contesting their eligibility - Sens. Tim Knopp, Daniel Bonham, Suzanne Weber, Dennis Linthicum, and Lynn Findley - argue that the language of the amendment allows them to seek another term because a senator's term ends in January while elections are held the previous November, meaning the penalty wouldn't effectively bar them from running for re-election immediately.
• The case was initially filed in the Oregon Court of Appeals but has been moved directly to the state Supreme Court, with arguments scheduled for December 14.

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