SALEM, Ore. -- The statewide contest with the most exciting finish had one of the dullest campaigns.

Nobody bought television ads asking voters to defeat Measure 53 and there were no statements against the measure published in the statewide Voters' Pamphlet.

But days after Oregonians learned that Barack Obama defeated Hillary Rodham Clinton, state officials were still not ready to say whether Measure 53 passed or failed.

Measure 53 would amend the Oregon Constitution to modify the limits voters placed on civil forfeiture when they approved the Oregon Property Protection Act of 2000.

The act said property can be forfeited only if a person is convicted of a crime and the government provides clear evidence that the property was related to the crime. Supporters said it changed long-standing forfeiture laws that allowed law enforcement agencies to seize and sell property even if the owner was never arrested, charged or convicted of a crime.

But there were unintended consequences that state lawmakers were trying to fix when they put Measure 53 on the ballot.

One of the examples most often cited is that abused animals have lingered in shelters because they cannot be adopted until their alleged abusers are convicted of a crime. Measure 53 would allow those animals to be adopted before a criminal case is settled.

Because the act also prohibited the use of forfeited property for law enforcement purposes, state and local agencies have been unable to participate in a federal revenue sharing program. It also created circumstances allowing a drug dealer arrested and charged with a particular transaction to keep cash found at the time of the arrest unless prosecutors could directly connect that cash to the transaction.

Measure 53 would change all of that, but many voters apparently were not ready to loosen the 2000 act.

With nearly 1 million ballots counted as of late Thursday, 474,183 Oregonians voted for Measure 53 and 472,213 voted against it. The secretary of state's office says there are 27,480 ballots yet to be processed -- these include ballots dropped off in the wrong county or ballots with questionable signatures. And there's a good chance a re-count will be needed.

"I'm surprised, but then I'm not surprised," Rob Bovett said of the close race. The legal counsel for the Oregon Narcotics Enforcement Association said he's surprised because of the lack of organized opposition, but not surprised because Oregon residents have historically been leery about allowing government to confiscate property.