Over the past several weeks we have heard arguments both for and against the notion of putting a citizen-led repeal of new gas taxes on the May ballot, rather than a November one. Proponents said it gets the question of future funding for the Oregon Department of Transportation answered sooner. Opponents said it subverted the democratic process because opposition will not have enough time to make their case.
In an election year, and in a time when seeds are being sown at the federal level to increase distrust in electoral politics, we’re inclined to side with the opponents here. Oregon does not need any whiff of subversion.
Oregon lawmakers passed the bill that would move the matter to the May election Monday afternoon. Given the optics of this move, it was a mistake.
In 2025, the Oregon State Legislative Assembly failed to pass a bill addressing funding gaps for ODOT — gaps that are at least in part due to declining revenues from gas taxes, with more efficient gas-powered cars and more electric vehicles in the state. In the fall, Gov. Tina Kotek called lawmakers back for a special session to pass a less-extensive funding package that raised gas taxes 6 cents and increased vehicle registration fees. In the winter, members of the coalition No Tax Oregon gathered over 250,000 signatures in an effort to refer the notion of that gas-tax increase to voters. That initiative paused the implementation of the ODOT funding bill until voters can weigh in on the matter.
Over the last several months, both parties have been at work. The signature-gathering effort indicated to voters that they’d vote on the matter in November. Democrats, including Gov. Tina Kotek, have favored moving the vote to May, they say, to gain more clarity on future budgeting for ODOT, sooner rather than later. Her opponents think it’s a move to keep the issue off the November ballot, when the governor herself will be up for re-election.
Time is of the essence, Democrats said, because budget discussions for the coming year start in the summer and last eight months. And anyway, the date of the election wasn’t a big part of the anti-gas-tax messaging, they said; voters just wanted the opportunity to vote on the matter. So, they opted to get it over with.
Here in Central Oregon, where it is a regional pastime to wring our hands about unplowed roads, we find it ironic that people are signing petitions to make the plowing worse.
But even if it were true that the timing of the vote wasn’t the primary reason Oregonians signed the petition to repeal the gas tax, Republicans sure are running with the notion that it was. Moving the matter to May is requiring some legal wrangling on the part of the Secretary of State, and you can be sure that opponents will point out every misstep and irregularity. From now through May — and likely beyond — voters less attuned to the finer points are going to hear an earful about how Democrats “change the rules after people voted on them,” and how when voters disagree with Salem, Salem changes the election rules.
We fear this is going to further erode voter trust in a moment in history when trust in government is at an all-time low. According to Pew Research, only 17% of Americans say they trust the government in Washington, D.C., to do what is right “just about always” (2%) or “most of the time” (15%).
If the signature-gathering effort is any indication, the new gas tax is likely to go down in flames. Voters appear weary of new taxes and fees – even while coastal roads wash out and lines at the Driver and Motor Vehicle Services offices around the state get longer.
And that’s what is getting lost in the politics of the issue. Due to real progress on the climate front, through electric vehicles and efficiency, the state now has fewer dollars for road maintenance. Here in Central Oregon, where it is a regional pastime to wring our hands about unplowed roads, we find it ironic that people are signing petitions to make the plowing worse.
While it might have been better to “get it over with” and vote in May, we’re deeply concerned about the effects on voter trust. The merits of funding ODOT, unfortunately, will have to wait.
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