oregon became first state to pass initiative referendum laws in 1902.
oregon became first state to pass initiative referendum laws in 1902.
when did oregon becomes first state to pass initiative referendum laws?
1902
many progressives sought to enable the citizenry to rule more directly and circumvent machines, bosses and professional politicians. the institution of the initiative and referendums made it possible to pass laws without the involvement of the legislature, while the recall allowed for the removal of corrupt or under-performing officials, and the direct primary let people democratically nominate candidates, avoiding the professionally dominated conventions. thanks to the efforts of oregon state representative william s. u'ren and his direct legislation league, voters in oregon overwhelmingly approved a ballot measure in 1902 that created the initiative and referendum processes for citizens to directly introduce or approve proposed laws or amendments to the state constitution, making oregon the first state to adopt such a system. u'ren also helped in the passage of an amendment in 1908 that gave voters power to recall elected officials, and would go on to establish, at the state level, popular election of u.s. senators and the first presidential primary in the united states. in 1911, california governor hiram johnson established the oregon system of "initiative, referendum, and recall" in his state, viewing them as good influences for citizen participation against the historic influence of large corporations on state lawmakers. these progressive reforms were soon replicated in other states, including idaho, washington, and wisconsin, and today roughly half of u.s. states have initiative, referendum and recall provisions in their state constitutions.
progressive era
bullet::::- 1995 oregon becomes the first state to conduct a federal primary election totally by mail.









































bullet::::- 1996 u.s senator ron wyden is elected by mail with a 66% turnout, succeeding bob packwood. "









































bullet::::- 1998 oregonians confirm their overwhelming support for vote-by-mail by passing measure 60.









































bullet::::- 2000 oregon becomes the first state in the nation to conduct a presidential election entirely by mail. about 80% of registered voters participated.









































bullet::::- 2019 oregon becomes the first state not to require paid postage on ballot return envelopes.
vote-by-mail in oregon