Not to be a killjoy, but it’s been pointed out that one can’t willy-nilly (or Willy Tapeworm) go and change the Great Seal of Washington.   Turns out, to do so takes a constitutional amendment, and you can’t amend the Constitution by voter initiative.

As we’ve noted, James Vaughn of Ortingfiled an initiative to change the official seal from its depiction of the Father of the Country, George Washington, to one featuring a tapeworm dressed in a three-piece suit, attached to the nether region of the taxpayer.

But Patrick McDonald, assistant to the Secretary of State, and a serious observer of protocol and safeguarding the seal from unauthorized use, passes this along:

Article 18 of the Washington State Constitution:

SECTION 1 SEAL OF THE STATE. The seal of the State of Washington shall be, a seal encircled with the words: “The Seal of the State of Washington,” with the vignette of General George Washington as the central figure, and beneath the vignette the figures “1889.”

Custody of seal: Art. 3 Section 18.
State seal: RCW 1.20.080.

 

While RCW 1.20.080 clarifies exactly what the seal should look like – it does not change the bottom line design set forth by the state constitution. The constitution cannot be amended by initiative.”

McDonald adds:

“P.S. I think it is interesting that the present state seal has President Washington in civilian clothes – reflecting the time the design was updated at the end of the Vietnam War – so technically – we may be a bit out of constitutional compliance,” since the Constitution refers to “General” Washington and earlier depictions show him in uniform.”