Oregon Statewide Election Coverage

Salem-News.com will have complete election results just after 8:00 PM tonight.

Salem-News.com

(SALEM, Ore. ) - Oregon voters only have a few more hours to get their ballots in. Voters have until 8:00 PM tonight to turn in their ballots. State and local election officials are predicting a lackluster voter turnout.

Voters will decide on Measure 50, the "Healthy Kids" plan, which would create an children's health insurance fund that would be paid for with an increase in cigarette taxes.

Under the measure, the state tax on a pack of cigarettes would rise by 84.5 cents a pack to $2.02 per pack. State budget officials have estimated the tax increase would raise about $150 million in its first year and a half. Families who make $41,000 to $62,000 a year in Oregon would be able to pay on a sliding scale for subsidized care.

Measure 49, referred to the voters by the Legislature, is an amended version of Measure 37, that would roll back the 2004 property rights law.

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Measure 37 allowed property owners to seek compensation if land-use actions imposed after they bought property reduced its value and restricted its use. Measure 37 claims must either pay compensation or waive the regulations. Measure 49 would allow rural landowners to build homes -- three in most cases and as many as 10 in other cases -- but curb large subdivisions and industrial development allowed under the 2004 law.

Salem-News.com Will Have The Most Complete Election Coverage Online In The Mid-Willamette Valley Beginning At 8:00 PM.

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