Published June 8, 2023 5:43am EDT
Wallowa County became the 12th Oregon county to join the "Greater Idaho" movement when special election results on the measure were finalized Tuesday.
The vote originally took place in May, with preliminary results showing support for the effort leading by only 21 votes. After all votes were finalized in June, the lead shrunk to only seven votes, narrowly avoiding the state requirement for a recount.
The "Greater Idaho" effort originally began in 2020 as an idea for large swaths of rural eastern Oregon to secede and join the more conservative Idaho to get away from the western, progressive part of the state.
With Wallowa County's vote, 12 out of 12 counties that have held an election on a "Greater Idaho" measure of any kind have voted in favor of exploring the move.
https://www.foxnews.com/media/rural-oregon-movement-join-greater-idaho-gains-traction-vote-12th-county