Recount of Oregon GMO measure 92

Ballots are recounted at Multnomah County election headquarters in Portland on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2014. (AP Photo/Don Ryan)

(Don Ryan/The Associated Press)

Supporters of Oregon's Ballot Measure 92 to require labeling of genetically modified foods conceded defeat Thursday morning.

The Yes on 92 Campaign, thwarted in a lawsuit this week challenging the rejection of about 4,600 ballots over signature issues, sent a news release saying that it had concluded it had no other legal options.

"Given the razor-thin margin in this race, and the failure to count every valid ballot, we believe that Oregonians will never know for sure what the true outcome of this race was," the release said. "That said, we intend to abide by the judge's decision and will not pursue any further legal action."

The measure was the subject of the costliest campaign in state history, with supporters spending more than $8 million and opponents nearly $21 million.

The initial results from the Nov. 4 election showed Measure 92 failing by just 812 votes out of more than 1.5 million cast -- a margin of just 0.05 percent. Anything under 0.2 percent triggers a recount.

The recount got under way Dec. 2, but as new results began coming in, it was clear the new tally would be extremely close to the first one. Results from Multnomah County, where support for the measure was strongest, were posted Friday afternoon and signaled the measure's ultimate doom.

Two of Oregon's 36 counties have yet to post results -- Clackamas and Sherman. Recounts in the other 34 turned up an additional 100 yes votes and 89 no votes -- for a net shift of 11 votes into the yes column, far too few to overcome the measure's margin of defeat.

Supporters on Thursday said they were "neither discouraged nor defeated."

"We draw strength from the fact that we came so achingly close to winning this vote," the news releases said, despite being far outspent by the likes of DuPont Pioneer and Monsanto Co.

"We will continue working until Oregonians and all Americans – like the residents of 64 other countries around the globe -- have the information they need to make informed choices about the food that they feed their families."

The measure would have required labels on packaging, bins and shipping containers of genetically modified foods and foods with genetically modified ingredients. The measure's failure follows voter rejections, also by narrow margins, in California in 2012 and Washington in 2013.

The fight over the measure took a number of twists and turns. The vast majority of the money for the campaigns flowed in from out of state, with companies such as DuPont Pioneer squaring off against Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps.

The vote was so close that news outlets, including The Oregonian, waited until at least Nov. 5 to call the measure defeated. Even so, supporters accused The Oregonian of calling the race too early.

Supporters saw a ray of hope the week after the election when the Secretary of State's Office, under a new law, publicly released the names of voters whose ballots were not counted because of discrepancies between the signature on the ballot and the voter card signature on file.

Both sides -- but especially the Yes on 92 Campaign -- pushed to get voters to fix their ballots by the Nov. 18 deadline. As results were updated, prominent pollster Tim Hibbitts withdrew his conclusion that the measure had failed and changed it to too close to call.

Supporters seized on the ballots still left uncounted for the basis of a lawsuit Monday, arguing that the ballots were valid and unfairly rejected. Multnomah County Judge Henry Kantor on Tuesday rejected their bid for a restraining order to prevent the state from certifying the recount results.

The Secretary of State's Office is now on track to gather the last two counties' results -- due Friday -- and seal the measure's defeat Monday or Tuesday.

-- Michelle Brence