The Supreme Court of Oregon has banned ten Republican state senators from seeking re-election.
Fox News reports that the court’s members blocked the GOP lawmakers by accusing them of violating state rules.
It is, perhaps, not irrelevant that the court is dominated by leftist judges.
In their ruling, the judges, as will be demonstrated, upheld a ruling from Oregon’s secretary of state – LaVonne Griffin-Valade – who is also a Democrat.
The case regards the six-week boycott that took place in early 2023.
“GOP lawmakers still purposefully missed scheduled floor votes in an attempt to halt legislation,” the Oregon Statesman Journal reported.
“Work stalled for six weeks, the longest walkout in state history.”
The outlet adds:
Republican leadership first told reporters absent lawmakers were protesting the violation of an obscure 1979 law requiring bill summaries be written clearly and at an eighth or ninth-grade reading level.
Still, as the walkout continued, the motivation became clearer as Republicans protested various bills related to, among other things, abortion, gender-affirming care, and firearm regulation.
Part of the problem, here, is that, in 2022, the Oregon legislature passed Measure 113, which prohibits these types of walkouts.
The measure prohibits any lawmaker with 10 or more unexcused absences from holding legislative office “for the term following the election after the member’s current term is completed.”
During the 2023 legislative session, 10 Oregon state senators had more than 10 unexcused absences, and these 10 individuals were Republicans.
These 10 lawmakers were disqualified, under Measure 113, by Griffin-Valade, and the Republicans took the matter to the courts.
Now, Oregon’s top court has upheld Griffin-Valade’s ruling, preventing the 10 Republican state senators from seeking re-election.
This is especially problematic for state Republicans because, as the New York Times reports, these 10 individuals account for the majority of the state’s Republican state senators.
In fact, these 10 individuals account for one-third of Oregon’s entire senate.
The Oregon Senate Republican Caucus has put out a statement criticizing the Oregon Supreme Court for its ruling.
The statement, in part, reads:
“Democrat-stacked supreme court sides with Democrats and union cronies on Measure 113 despite the plain language of Constitution.”
Oregon Senate Republican Leader Tim Knopp has also released a statement on the matter, in part, saying:
“[W]e are deeply disturbed by the chilling impact this decision will have to crush dissent.
“I’m disappointed but can’t say I’m surprised that a court of judges appointed solely by Gov. [Kate] Brown and Gov. [Tina] Kotek would rule in favor of political rhetoric rather than their own precedent.
“The only winners in this case are Democrat politicians and their union backers.”
Critics claim that this is yet another example of Democrats usurping the law to “save democracy” by eliminating their political opposition.
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