The Oregon Secretary of State announced on July 24 that an initiative to ban hunting in the state did not submit a sufficient number of valid signatures, missing the signature threshold for the November ballot. No other campaigns submitted signatures this election cycle in Oregon by the July 2 deadline. 2026 will be the first even-numbered year since 1966 without an initiative on the general election ballot in Oregon.
The initiative, referred to by the sponsors as the People for the Elimination of Animal Cruelty Exemptions (PEACE) Act, would have removed certain exemptions to animal cruelty laws, criminalizing hunting, fishing, and intentional injury to animals. The only exceptions allowed under the initiative for harming or killing a protected animal are self-defense against an immediate threat to yourself, other humans, or other animals, and good veterinary practices defined in state law.
The campaign filed 142,784 signatures for verification. The secretary of state reported that 104,262 signatures were valid. The signature requirement for initiated state statutes was 117,173 signatures (6% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election).
