(SALEM, OR)– Today, December 29, 2025 at 1pm, the chief petitioners to the gas tax referendum will be turning in additional signatures to State Elections bringing their total count to 250,900 Oregon voters who have signed the petition.
This is more than triple the 78,116 valid signatures needed to qualify. It is the largest and quickest volunteer referendum drive in Oregon history.
Referendum chief petitioner, Bruce Starr commented, “Oregonians from every corner of the state spent their holiday season gathering signatures. Because of their hard work, the will of Oregon voters will not be ignored. The credit for this success goes to the tireless volunteers across this great state – they are nothing short of amazing.”
Referendum chief petitioner, Ed Diehl commented, “The people of Oregon have spoken loud and clear. They expect ODOT to be accountable for the money it already has, and they expect road safety and maintenance to be the highest priority — not an afterthought.”
Referendum chief petitioner, Jason Williams commented, “The quarter million signatures gathered is a testament that people consider the right to vote on taxes to be critically important to their lives. They were left out the tax debate this year and this campaign gave them their voice back and gave them their vote back.” Williams also said, “This tax is going to cost many families hundreds of dollars in new taxes every year, and that will hit especially hard the unemployed looking for a job, the seniors on a limited income and disabled among us. People cannot afford this tax and this petition has been their lifeline to voice their opposition.”
The Right to Vote on the Gas Tax PAC campaign had previously turned in over 190,000 signatures to the State Elections Office for early verification on December 15th which is allowed for petition drives that cross the legal threshold to qualify. As the State Elections has been reviewing those signatures, the campaign has continued to gather signatures until their deadline this week. These impressive numbers continue to demonstrate that Governor Kotek’s $4.3 billion gas tax package is not only one of the biggest taxes in Oregon history but among the most damaging and disliked according to voters.