History Minutes: Oregon's Early Voting Rules

Voting Rules, 1845 Letter to L.H. Judson // bc006595

During the summer of 1843, Willamette Valley settlers organized a provisional government using the one law book they had on hand—Organic Laws of the State of Iowa..  At the time, taxation was voluntary, and the executive branch of the government was comprised of one committee.  By summer 1844, many new settlers had arrived in the territory, and they made their own alterations to the system.  They reduced the executive branch to one person, made taxation compulsory, outlawed alcohol, and banned African Americans from settling in the state.

By May 1845, the provisional government was still referring to the Iowa law book, but it had also created Oregon statutes.  A vote was taken on whether Oregonians would convene a constitutional convention, the first step on the path toward statehood.  The vote failed, however, and citizens, fearful of higher taxes, voted against a convention in 1854, 1855 and 1856.

These elections were taken seriously.  Detailed instructions were spelled out for voting, how to choose officials, when to open and close polls, and who was allowed to cast a ballot.  "Any male descendent of a white man" could vote, a provision that gave the vote to children of white fathers and non-white, usually Indian, mothers.

In 1857, the call for a constitutional convention finally received overwhelming support, and delegates from across the territory headed to Salem to draft the Oregon Constitution.