Judge Rules Gas-Tax Referendum Can Stay on May 2026 Ballot

Oregon voters will decide on a 6-cent gas tax increase this May rather than in November after Marion County Circuit Court Senior Judge David Leith ruled last week that state lawmakers did not violate the Oregon Constitution when they moved the referendum to the earlier date.

Leith, appointed by former Democratic Gov. John Kitzhaber, ruled March 11 in favor of Secretary of State Tobias Read, denying a temporary restraining order sought by the leaders of the referendum effort who had filed suit against Read on March 3. Those plaintiffs included Senate Minority Leader Bruce Starr, R-Dundee, Rep. Ed Diehl, R-Scio, who is also running for governor, Jason Williams, founder of the Taxpayers Association of Oregon, 36 county petition circulators, and the Right to Vote on the Gas Tax PAC.

The group had argued that the referendum date should not have been moved after signatures were collected, and asked the court to require Read to justify why the shift should not be paused. Leith found the plaintiffs were "not likely to succeed on the merits" and declined to act.

The central constitutional question turned on Senate Bill 1599, the legislation that moved the gas tax vote from November to May. Leith concluded the challenge to SB 1599 was unlikely to succeed because Oregon's Constitution specifically grants lawmakers the power to set the dates for ballot measures. He acknowledged the sped-up timeline created complications for voters' pamphlet submissions but wrote that was not sufficient to block the bill.

On the question of free speech, Leith wrote: "The Court finds no violation of free speech rights in this circumstance … because on this record the increased burden appears to fall similarly on those seeking to submit arguments in favor of or opposed to the referendum."

The March 10 hearing at which Leith signaled his thinking was the first proceeding among at least three lawsuits filed over the date change. Leith was clear-eyed about the limits of his decision. "I understand that I am not the last word here," he said March 10, acknowledging the case would likely be appealed. Diehl said after the ruling that the plaintiffs were still deciding how to respond.

The measure at stake targets a transportation funding law passed in a 2025 special legislative session that includes the 6-cent gas tax increase as well as higher vehicle registration and title fees and payroll tax increases. Lawmakers who backed the package warned that the Oregon Department of Transportation faced hundreds of millions of dollars in budget pressure and needed new revenue to maintain roads, bridges, and other infrastructure.

Hours after Leith's ruling, a separate federal judge issued an order requiring Read to allow Mary Martin, a 73-year-old Klamath Falls resident who uses a wheelchair and lives on a fixed income, to submit an argument against the gas tax for the voters' pamphlet without paying a fee or meeting the normal signature requirement. Martin had argued that moving the referendum date and compressing the submission timeline violated federal discrimination laws for people with disabilities. The federal judge granted her request but did not extend the accommodation to others in similar situations, which Martin had also sought.