Where Did All the Ballot Measures Go?

By Emily Boyd, Government Affairs Manager, Bend Chamber

Oregon voters are accustomed to seeing a slate of statewide ballot measures alongside candidate races in November. This year will look noticeably different: there are no statewide measures on the November 3, 2026 ballot.

That’s particularly notable in a state with a long history of citizen-led initiatives. Nearly 90 prospective statewide initiatives were proposed for the 2026 election cycle, but most never made it through the signature-gathering process. The one proposal that did submit enough signatures to trigger verification — Initiative Petition 28, which proposed significant changes to Oregon’s animal cruelty laws affecting hunting, fishing and livestock practices — ultimately fell short of the number of valid signatures required to qualify. The Oregon Legislature also did not refer any measures to voters this cycle.

For Bend voters, however, the ballot won’t be entirely measure-free. Measure 9-185 asks Deschutes County voters to approve a district map for the expanded five-member Board of County Commissioners. Voters approved expanding the commission from three to five members in 2024, and if Measure 9-185 is approved, the proposed map would establish five commissioner districts beginning in 2028.

Oregon’s initiative and referendum system gives citizens a direct path to propose changes to state law or the Oregon Constitution, while the Legislature can also refer measures directly to voters. This year, neither route resulted in a statewide measure making the November ballot, leaving candidate races and a much shorter list of local measures at the center of the 2026 General Election.