'Greater Idaho' committee petition makes it to Klamath County's May ballot

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – Klamath County residents will get to vote on whether to create a committee to study shifting the Oregon-Idaho border.

The “Greater Idaho” movement aims to move the Idaho border to include rural Oregon counties in a bid for better legislative representation.

The Klamath County petition to create a three-person “Border Relocation Board” received nearly 2,900 signatures to bring the item to next year’s ballot. Only about 1,700 were required.

“The movement expects three or four counties to vote on its initiatives this May,” according to GreaterIdaho.org. “So far, eight counties have voted for ballot measures submitted by the movement: two in November 2020, five in May 2021, and one in a special election last month.”

To actually become a reality, Greater Idaho would first require approval from the Oregon and Idaho state legislatures and then the U.S. Congress.