SALEM — Early election returns show Oregon voters supporting a measure that would give legislators the authority to impeach a statewide official, something that’s allowed in all other states except Oregon.

Initial results released by the Secretary of State’s Office show about 63% of voters in favor of Measure 115 compared with 37% opposed.

If the measure passes, as the initial results indicate, it will amend the state constitution to allow the Oregon state House to impeach the governor, secretary of state, attorney general, treasurer or commissioner of labor and industries. Congress has the ability to impeach a sitting president, as it did twice with President Donald Trump when he was in office. And legislatures in the other 49 states also can impeach a statewide official. Passage of the measure means Oregon would no longer be an outlier.

Measure 115 specifies lawmakers could impeach a statewide official for corruption, neglect of duty or a felony or high crime by a two-thirds vote. That, in turn, would trigger a trial in the state Senate presided over by the chief justice of the Oregon Supreme Court. A two-thirds vote by the Senate to convict could result in that official being removed from office but would not amount to a criminal conviction.

The measure was referred to voters by state lawmakers, who previously failed to garner enough agreement to get a similar proposal on the ballot. They said Measure 115 was not prompted by any specific incident or elected official, though it moved forward after former Secretary of State Shemia Fagan resigned in May 2023. Her resignation followed revelations that she worked a $10,000-per-month side job for a marijuana company that had helped shape an audit her office conducted of the state agency that regulates the cannabis industry. In the case of Fagan and former Gov. John Kitzhaber, who resigned in 2015 over an influence peddling scandal involving his fiancée, lawmakers were powerless to do anything but call for their resignations.

Oregonians can get recall petitions on the ballot with enough signatures from registered voters. An attempt last year to recall retiring Democratic state Rep. Paul Holvey of Eugene was overwhelmingly trounced by voters, and at least six attempts by Republicans to gather enough signatures to recall Democratic Gov. Kate Brown when she was in office also failed.

The Taxpayer Association of Oregon, which favors lower taxes, submitted the only argument in favor of the measure in the state-issued voters’ pamphlet. It said the recall process is not sufficient and that Measure 115 is needed to give lawmakers the power to oust a corrupt official and check abuses of power by the executive branch.

“Oregonians deserve a way to hold corrupt elected officials accountable,” the group said.