The Oregon Supreme Court ruled Thursday against ten Republican state senators who staged a record-long walkout in 2023, disqualifying them from seeking reelection. This ruling affirmed the Oregon Secretary of State’s enforcement of Measure 113, a constitutional amendment passed by voters in 2022, to penalize lawmakers with more than ten unexcused absences by barring them from the subsequent term’s election.

The court’s ruling was a direct consequence of a protracted boycott by ten GOP senators. The boycott, which lasted six weeks, was a strategic move to stall legislation on abortion, transgender health care, and gun rights. The court’s interpretation of Measure 113 focused on the voters’ intent, concluding that it was designed to ensure legislative attendance and participation, a principle that voters overwhelmingly supported.

During the oral argument last December, there was a significant debate over how Measure 113 should be applied. The Republican senators argued that they should be allowed to run in the next election and that any ban should only start after that. However, the court decided that the language —when considering how it was explained to voters—meant that the senators could not run in the next election right after their absences. Thus, the rule would immediately disqualify legislators from the next term if they surpassed the absence threshold. “[T]hose other materials expressly and uniformly informed voters that the amendment would apply to a legislator’s immediate next terms of office, indicating that the voters so understood and intended that meaning,” the justices stated in their decision.

State Senator Suzanne Weber (R-Tillamook) criticized the ruling saying, “I’m disappointed but can’t say I’m surprised that a court of judges appointed solely by Governor Brown and Governor Kotek would rule in favor of political rhetoric rather than their own precedent.”