The Greater Idaho movement continues to gain momentum: only two counties in the proposed Phase 1 have yet to put a referendum on the ballot. (See the bottom of this post for links to previous posts on Greater Idaho.)

Here’s the latest press release from Greater Idaho:

Greater Idaho on the ballot in Crook County, avoids recount in Wallowa County

The Wallowa County Clerk stated last night that the Greater Idaho ballot measure has avoided a recount because the elections results were not close enough to trigger a recount. Yesterday was the last day that Oregon voters could cure their incomplete ballots. Greater Idaho ballot measures now have a perfect record in eastern Oregon.

The Crook County Court voted this morning to place a non-binding question about the Greater Idaho proposal on the county’s May 2024 ballot. The question is “Should Crook County represent that its citizens support efforts to move the Idaho state border to include Crook County?” The ballot summary states “The Crook County Court has placed this advisory question on the ballot to determine voter attitudes of whether your Crook County elected officials should inform state and federal officials that the people of Crook County support continued negotiations regarding a potential relocation of the Oregon-Idaho border to include Crook County.” The question is similar to questions approved by Wheeler County and Sherman County voters.

Crook County will be the thirteenth county to vote on the proposal. Umatilla and Gilliam counties are the only counties that are included in the proposal but that have not yet put the issue to their voters.

Some counties of Oregon are governed by a “county court” composed of a judge and two county commissioners, rather than by a board of commissioners.

The Greater Idaho movement believes that state leaders should want to let eastern Oregon join Idaho because it would benefit Oregon’s state budget, and because eastern Oregon’s state senators have announced that they will block votes in the Oregon Senate indefinitely until state leadership changes course, as their new op-ed explains. The author, Mike McCarter, wrote that moving the state line would be good for the income taxes of both states: “Portland metro incomes are so high that any middle-income county that departs the Oregon state budget increases the average income of both Oregon and Idaho.”

Previous posts about Greater Idaho: