This story was produced by the Oregon Journalism Project , a nonprofit newsroom covering the state.

Backers of Initiative Petition 43, which would allow grocery stores to sell hard liquor, got a certified ballot title from the Oregon Department of Justice this week.

Here’s the title: “Eligible retailers and wholesalers may be licensed to sell distilled liquor; retailers taxed on sales.”

Anybody who wants to challenge that title now has until Aug. 19 to do so at the Oregon Supreme Court.

Getting a ballot title is a key step toward gathering the 117,173 valid signatures the state requires for the initiative to appear on the November 2026 ballot. Privatizing hard liquor sales—which currently fall under the purview of the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission—has been a hot-button

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