Want another reason to read your Oregon Voters Pamphlet — besides, you know, democracy?

Toward the very end of the roughly 150-page pamphlet, you can get “Rickrolled” reading about Measure 119.

For those who are not chronically online, “Rickrolling” is when the lyrics to, or video of, Rick Astley’s 1987 pop hit “Never Gonna Give You Up” are inserted someplace unexpected.

Often, it’s a bait-and-switch weblink that leads to the music video. In this case, the first word of each sentence in UFCW Local 555’s argument in favor of Measure 119 spells out: “Never going to give you up, never going to let you down.”

UFCW Local 555 is the local arm of the United Food & Commercial Workers. The argument was furnished by Michael Selvaggio with Ridgelark Strategies.

The end of the group’s argument reads, “Now read the first word of each sentence to hear what Measure 119 will never do.”

Selvaggio first learned his Rickroll had been publicly spotted via a Reddit thread.

“It‘s a good thing that shows that people do actually read (the Voters’ Pamphlet) and do read the arguments for and against,” he said. “I‘m glad that people are talking about it, and it’s got the bonus of being true.”

Measure 119 is a statewide initiative petition that would open the door for cannabis workers to unionize by requiring cannabis businesses to remain neutral as union organizers communicate with their workers.

“Union representatives say introducing such agreements will bring clarity to the ‘murky‘ application of federal labor law to cannabis workers,” The Oregonian/OregonLive reporter Jonathan Bach wrote, “both because of marijuana’s federal status as illegal to possess or sell and how, according to union representatives, employers have tried to classify cannabis employees as agricultural workers to sidestep the National Labor Relations Act, which doesn’t cover farm workers.”

The Rickroll was Selvaggio’s way of adding a bit of levity to the generally dry reading of ballot measures.

“In politics, we like to say, you‘ve got only a few seconds to catch someone’s attention before they throw out that mail piece or turn the page on that voters’ pamphlet,” Selvaggio said. “I’m always looking for ways to drive engagement, and I understand from personal experience reading through the Voters Pamphlet that it’s not the funnest read.”

Selvaggio also tried to submit an argument using ASCII emoticons, but said it was rejected because the Voters’ Pamphlet doesn’t allow pictures.

This is not the first time Oregon politics has been Rickrolled. Back in 2011, a bipartisan group of state legislators conspired to include parts of Astley’s song in their House floor speeches. The resulting video mashup was watched more than 2 million times on YouTube.

Slightly different versions of the Voters Pamphlet are mailed to homes, depending on the county you live in. 

The election is Nov. 5.

Online recap: Rogue Valley Times 2024 local election coverage