1982 El Salvador Ballot Measure

In 1982, PCASC led a coalition that gathered 17,500 signatures in order to put a ballot measure on the Multnomah County ballot. Proposition 7, the Ordinance against U.S. Military Aid to El Salvador, called on the federal government “to end all military aid to the government of El Salvador and to withdraw all military personnel from that country.” The ballot measure was initiated in response to the brutal repression of the people of El Salvador by their own dictatorial government with the support of U.S. military aid. PCASC also hoped to develop itself as a legitimate political voice in Oregon and saw this ballot measure as a method of publicizing its issues. The coalition campaigned for one year and the ballot measure was a success. It passed by a 3-to-1 margin of the popular vote and garnered national attention.