(PartiallyPolitics.com) – On Tuesday, voters in Crook County, Oregon, cast their ballots in favor of initiating discussions to separate from Oregon and join Idaho. This decision aligns with the Greater Idaho movement, which aims to adjust the Oregon-Idaho border to incorporate 14 entire eastern Oregon counties and parts of three others. The Greater Idaho group’s website reveals that Crook County’s approval now makes it the 13th county to endorse such measures. In 2023, the Idaho Legislature also extended an invitation to Oregon lawmakers to commence talks on this proposal.
Matt McCaw, the Executive Director of Greater Idaho, expressed the sentiments of eastern Oregon residents, stating, “The voters of eastern Oregon have loudly and clearly voiced their desire for border discussions to progress. With Crook County’s recent decision, there’s no justification for the state’s leadership to overlook the public’s call. We urge the Governor, along with the leaders of the House and Senate, to engage with us on the forthcoming steps to adjust governance for the people of eastern Oregon and to start legislative hearings on what these border changes might entail.”
The divide has been widening over the past decade between the ultra-left-leaning Portland area, including its adjacent coastal counties, and the rest of Oregon. The more densely populated western part of the state has been engaging in liberal policy experiments, whereas the eastern regions align more closely with the traditional values of neighboring Idaho.
According to the Greater Idaho movement’s website, “The Oregon/Idaho boundary was set 163 years ago and no longer reflects current realities. It is misaligned with the prevailing cultural divisions within Oregon.”
Lake County is scheduled to hold its second Greater Idaho meeting on Wednesday to further discuss the proposal to shift the state line. Previously, in November 2023, Morrow and Wheeler counties also voted in favor of petitioning state legislators to reconfigure the border to merge them with more conservative Idaho.
The Daily Mail remarked that the last modification to Oregon’s state boundary occurred in 1958, though it was a minor adjustment. A 2023 NewsNation poll indicated that a quarter of Americans support some form of secession.
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