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Category: Initiatives

WA Capitol demonstrations, then and now

WA Capitol demonstrations, then and now

Over the decades, Washington’s Capitol has seen its share of protests and demonstrations. Several times each year, groups gather on the steps of the Legislative Building to exercise their rights and let others know how they feel. The two photos here capture how times have changed in terms of dress. The above photo, taken in 1948, shows a group of senior citizens carrying petition sheets and demonstrating in favor of Initiative 172, the Citizens’ Security Act of 1948. (Voters approved…

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Secretary Wyman certifies Citizens United I-735

Secretary Wyman certifies Citizens United I-735

Assistant Secretary of State Mark Neary signs documents certifying I-735 Wednesday. Secretary of State Kim Wyman has certified Initiative to the Legislature 735. The measure seeks to put Washington on record as favoring an amendment to the U.S. Constitution overturning the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling. Wyman announced Tuesday that the state Elections Division has completed a random sample of the 333,040 signatures submitted by sponsors, confirming that there were sufficient signatures. The invalidation rate, including duplicates and signatures from people…

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Wyman certifies Initiative 732, sending it to Legislature

Wyman certifies Initiative 732, sending it to Legislature

Secretary of State Kim Wyman has certified Initiative to the Legislature 732, which deals with carbon taxes. It was a close call, though, despite sponsors turning in 363,126 signatures, nearly 120,000 more than the bare number of valid voter signatures required (246,372). That’s because an unusually high error rate was discovered when election crews checked a 3 percent random sample of 11,061 signatures.  The error rate was 27.59 percent, well above the historic average of 18 percent. That was due…

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Our initiative process, from filing to checking

Our initiative process, from filing to checking

Signature checkers review signatures for I-732. With Washington’s initiative process under way, you might wonder what it takes to get an initiative onto the ballot. After an initiative is filed with our office, it is sent to the Code Reviser for editing. However, the sponsor decides what version to submit as final text. Upon receipt of the final text, we assign a number and send it to the Office of Attorney General for a ballot title and summary. If the…

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‘Raise Up Wa’ initiative would boost min-wage

‘Raise Up Wa’ initiative would boost min-wage

A citizen coalition has filed an initiative proposal to boost the state minimum wage to $13.50 over four years, and expand paid sick leave. A throng of supporters filed their “Raise Up Washington” initiative at the Office of Secretary of State on Monday, just two hours before the Legislature convened.  Backers will need 246,372 valid signatures of registered Washington voters by July 8 in order to qualify for the fall statewide ballot. The state Elections Division suggests bringing in at…

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WA initiative season underway

WA initiative season underway

As WA lawmakers prepare to open their session on Monday, the people’s process of writing laws by initiative got its start Friday. By mid-afternoon, 24 proposals were filed with the Secretary of State’s Elections Division, including 13 from initiative activist Tim Eyman. His measures deal with making it tougher to raise taxes in Olympia, bringing back $30 car tabs, express lane tolls, and other issues. Kurt Ludden of Seattle filed seven initiatives, dealing with medical marijuana, and the initiative process. …

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I-732, I-735 sponsors turn in signatures

I-732, I-735 sponsors turn in signatures

Several boxes of signature petition sheets that I-735 sponsors delivered Wednesday afternoon. Sponsors of two initiatives to the 2016 Legislature delivered signatures to the state Elections Division Wednesday afternoon, one day before the Dec. 31 deadline. Initiative 732 aims to impose a carbon emission tax on certain fossil fuels. After delivering what the campaign said were 250,000 signatures in late October, I-732 sponsors turned in what one supporter said were about 100,000 additional signatures, for a total of roughly 350,000….

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Eyman and his nemesis file dueling initiatives

Eyman and his nemesis file dueling initiatives

Flanked by Mike and Jack Fagan, Tim Eyman files his latest anti-tax initiative. Andrew Villeneuve, an Eyman opponent who also filed an initiative Wednesday, stands in the background. Initiative king Tim Eyman visited our Capitol office to file his statewide initiative to the 2016 Legislature that would limit the duration of tax increases to one year if not approved by either a supermajority of the Legislature, or by voters. But minutes before Eyman’s arrival, his liberal nemesis, Northwest Progressive Institute’s…

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I-732 sponsors turn in 243K signatures

I-732 sponsors turn in 243K signatures

I-732 sponsor Yoram Bauman (center) talks to media and supporters after he and others turned in signatures for the ballot measure. Sponsors of an initiative to the Legislature to impose a carbon emission tax on certain fossil fuels submitted what the campaign estimated at more than 243,000 signatures Thursday at the state Elections Division office in Olympia. Initiative 732 sponsor Yoram Bauman says his team so far has collected about 294,000 signatures and hopes to gather a total of 330,000…

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Supreme Court allows I-1366 to stay on fall ballot

Supreme Court allows I-1366 to stay on fall ballot

  The state Supreme Court has ruled unanimously that Initiative 1366 can remain on this fall’s statewide ballot. The court said an opinion outlining the court’s reasoning would come later, but it wrote that the group suing to keep I-1366 off the ballot has “not made the clear showing necessary for injunctive relief.” Secretary of State Kim Wyman, the state’s chief elections officer, was sued by challengers who wanted her to pull the measure off the ballot. Wyman said no…

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