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Left: Sheila Rodgers of McMinnville and others protesters rallied in Salem in September against the state issuing driver cards for those who can't prove legal residency. (Thomas Patterson/Associated Press). Right: A crowd of Measure 88 supporters wave signs at a gathering in Portland in October. (Don Ryan/AP). (Associated Press)

(The Associated Press)

Measure 88, which would have provided driver cards to those who can't prove their legal residency, failed by a huge margin in Tuesday's election.

As of 2 a.m. Wednesday, voters were rejecting the measure 67 percent to 33 percent, with more than 75 percent of ballots tallied.

The measure pitted unions, some business groups and immigrant-rights organizations against a meagerly funded but tenacious campaign that referred the issue to the ballot after it passed the state Legislature and was signed into law by Gov. John Kitzhaber in May 2013.

Cynthia Kendoll, president of Oregonians for Immigration Reform, was excited about the outcome.

"I'm thrilled, needless to say," she said late Tuesday. "It went the way we hoped it would go and all the hard work we did has paid off."

She said the outcome was a victory for those who are "sick and tired of big business, special interest groups and unions controlling our government."



She said those groups are trying to define what the state's laws look like but "Oregonians could see right through it."

Asked if she thought the measure might come back in future elections, she said she hoped not. She also said that she doubts it would because "we've sent a strong enough message."

At least one proponent, however, thinks the measure will come back around.

Hugo Nicolas, student at the University of Oregon and a supporter of the measure, was deeply disappointed. Personally, he said, the loss will impact him because his father will lose his driving privileges.



"How is he going to get groceries?," he asked. "How is he going to buy car insurance?"



But he said he's not going to give up on the issue.



"We've got to educate voters about this issue," Nicolas said. "It didn't happen this year, but this fight's not over. We took a little step forward toward other steps."



He added that he wanted to thank everyone who supported the measure.

Under terms of the state constitution, a group named Protect Oregon Driver Licenses had only 90 days to gather the 58,142 signatures needed to refer the issue to the ballot. They made it with both signatures and time to spare.

Leading up to election day, supporters said they weren't sure what to expect. They reacted to poor polling results late in the campaign by saying a loss would only prompt them to revive the issue down the road.

"We're putting up the fight we are," said Ryan Deckert, Oregon Business Association president, "to lay the groundwork for the future."

Analysts predicted going into the election that Measure 88 might be decided by rural voters, with suburban blocs voting against it and urban areas voting in favor. But in the end, voters in 35 of Oregon's 36 counties said no. It was trounced in normally left-leaning counties including Lane and Benton. Only Multnomah County voters favored it, 54 percent to 46 percent.

The measure would have required the state Driver and Motor Vehicles Services Division to begin issuing driver cards within 30 days. Officials had anticipated that five or six of the division's 60 offices statewide would have been involved initially in providing driver cards.

Obtaining one of the cards would have required proof of at least one year's residency in Oregon and the showing of a valid unexpired passport or consular identification.

The cards would have cost $64 and been good for four years.

Proponents, who included some Republican legislators, cast the issue as one of public safety and equity. All of the driving public would have been safer due to the increased number of licensed and insured drivers, they said, while adding that potentially thousands of undocumented residents need to drive to work, take their children to school and run routine errands.

Measure opponents said issuing driver cards to those who can't prove legal residency in the U.S. would undermine the rule of law.

-- Dana Tims