Oregon Sees 13th County Vote to Secede, Join Idaho as ‘Greater Idaho’ Gains Steam

Another rural county has voted to break off from blue-state Oregon and join its red-state neighbor by reconfiguring the state border, the latest victory for the grassroots movement called Greater Idaho.

Crook County voters approved by 53-47% the Greater Idaho resolution asking if they want to enter into negotiations to relocate the border, according to unofficial results from Tuesday’s election.

The vote made Crook the thirteenth county to approve the measure, a proposal rooted in frustration with the Democrat-controlled Legislature dominated by Portland and coastal lawmakers with little knowledge or appreciation of the priorities of eastern residents.

Mike McCaw, Greater Idaho executive director, said the “voters of eastern Oregon have spoken loudly and clearly about their desire to see border talks move forward.”

“With this latest result in Crook County, there’s no excuse left for the Legislature and governor to continue to ignore the people’s wishes,” he said. “We call on the governor, speaker of the House, and Senate president to sit down with us and discuss next steps toward changing governance for eastern Oregonians, as well as for the Legislature to begin holding hearings on what a potential border change will look like.”

(Read more from “Oregon Sees 13th County Vote to Secede, Join Idaho as ‘Greater Idaho’ Gains Steam” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr