Oregon Hunting Ban Petition Misses 2026 Ballot After Only 104,000 Signatures Qualified
Updated
Updated · KATU · Jul 25
Oregon Hunting Ban Petition Misses 2026 Ballot After Only 104,000 Signatures Qualified
3 articles · Updated · KATU · Jul 25
Summary
Oregon voters will not see Initiative Petition 28 on the November 2026 ballot after state officials found only about 104,000 valid signatures, short of the qualification threshold.
Supporters said they submitted just over 142,000 signatures after removing about 8,000 themselves, but campaign leader David Michelson said they will try again in a future election cycle.
IP-28 would have expanded animal-cruelty laws; supporters cast it as animal protection, while opponents said it would effectively ban hunting, fishing, livestock production, breeding and some research.
The Oregon Farm Bureau called the decision welcome news but said the fight is not over, while Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek and Republican candidate Christine Drazan both praised the measure's failure.
The campaign was the third attempt to qualify the proposal and came closer than earlier efforts, underscoring how a once-fringe measure drew statewide attention across agriculture, tribal and outdoor groups.
With nearly 38,000 signatures invalidated, what hidden errors derailed Oregon's most radical animal rights measure just months before the 2026 election?
After three failed attempts to rewrite animal cruelty laws, what unprecedented strategy will activists use next to target the agricultural industry?
How would Oregon have funded the mysterious Humane Transition Fund if this sweeping ban on hunting and farming had reached the ballot?