The longest-ever strike in the Oregon legislature reached its fourth week on Wednesday as the enforceability of a ballot measure that would disqualify the boycotters from immediate re-election appeared in doubt.

Senate President Rob Wagner attempted again on Wednesday to convene the Senate, which last met on May 2.

Give this another chance, the Democrat said. But a roll call again showed that nine Republicans and an Independent Party senator were absent without an apology, preventing a quorum and keeping votes on Democratic bills on abortion, gender-affirming care and guns on ice.

In what has become a Groundhog Day ritual for the past four weeks, Wagner then banged the gavel to close the aborted session. He said he would try again the next day.

But Senator Tim Knopp, leader of the Republican minority in the Senate, says the boycott will not end until the last day of the legislative session, June 25, to pass bipartisan “legislation and budget bills.” Wagner says Democratic priorities, including a sweeping measure to guarantee abortion rights is non-negotiable, and the Democratic government Tina Kotek has supported that position.

Oregon GOP boycott halts laws on guns, abortion, and more

After GOP lawmakers boycotted the Oregon legislature in 2019, 2020 and 2021, voters last November passed a ballot measure by a nearly 70% margin that was supposed to stop strikes. Legislators with 10 or more unexcused absences would be disqualified from re-election in the next term, according to the measure’s title and summary.

But the text of the measure says that disqualification will apply to the post-election term after the members’ current term has been completed. Republicans believe that boycotters re-elected in 2024 may be candidates since their current term ends in January 2025 with disqualification from the 2028 election.

The wording of the measure text and not the more concise title or summary is now part of the state constitution.

An attorney hired by a political action committee called Oregon’s 13 Constitutional Defense Fund a reference to Oregon’s 12 Senate Republicans and Boquist asked Acting Secretary of State Cheryl Myers on Tuesday to rule that Knopp and Independent Senator Brian Boquist can run in the 2024 election, and serve terms starting in January 2025 if they win.

The unequivocal text shows that if they are disqualified from holding the office of senator, it would be for the term beginning in January 2029, attorney John DiLorenzo Jr. wrote. in his request.

Secretary of State spokesman Ben Morris said the department is seeking legal advice from the Oregon Department of Justice and will follow his advice. The Justice Department is currently preparing legal advice, said Roy Kaufmann, spokesperson for

Attorney General Att. Gene.

Ellen Rosenblum said in an email Wednesday.

End of an era? GOP strike shows political divide where ‘The Oregon Way’ once meant bipartisan confidence

Republican senators are expected to take legal action if the Secretary of State’s Elections Department blocks them from registering as candidates in September.

It will be an interesting issue for the courts to resolve,” former Oregon Supreme Court Justice Jack Landau said in an interview. Courts generally follow the ordinary meaning of words in the text of a ballot paper, he said.

“But if the wording of the measure is reasonably amenable to more than one interpretation, then the courts will look at … the title of the ballot. They will look at the statements in the voter’s pamphlet and such things to resolve the ambiguity said Landau, the distinguished attorney-in-residence at Willamette University College of Law.

Meanwhile, Senate and House Democrats on Wednesday lashed out at the anti-abortion, unconstitutional strike by Senate Republicans, saying in a statement it jeopardizes measures including a $4

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billion invested in public safety to tackle crime and gun violence, protect child victims of sexual abuse, tackle fentanyl overdoses and ensure police have the resources they need.

Oregon communities, families and small businesses were clear that public safety must be a top priority for us this session, Democratic Representative Daniel Nguyen said.