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Category: Initiatives

Checkers reviewing I-1351 signatures

Checkers reviewing I-1351 signatures

A signature checker reviews some of the signatures for I-1351. (Photo courtesy of Katy Payne) Our Elections Division is busy this week checking signatures that were submitted in early July for Initiative 1351. The initiative, if passed, would affect grades K-12 by lowering class sizes and increasing school staff. For an initiative to qualify for the statewide ballot, there needs to be at least 246,372 valid signatures submitted (8 percent of the votes cast for Governor in the most recent…

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Class-size initiative sponsors turn in 330K signatures

Class-size initiative sponsors turn in 330K signatures

Initiative 1351 sponsor Mary Howes leads a group of kids delivering signatures for the ballot measure to the State Elections Division in Olympia. About 30 children were among supporters that delivered nearly 330,000 signatures for an initiative to reduce class sizes in Washington public schools to the State Elections Division  in Olympia Wednesday morning, one day before the deadline to submit signatures for initiatives to the people this year. Initiative 1351 would direct the Legislature to allocate funds to reduce…

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Guns & history of initiatives to the Legislature

Guns & history of initiatives to the Legislature

It appears that the two gun-related initiatives to the Legislature (I-591 and I-594) will be forwarded to the fall ballot. Both measures received legislative hearings and, as most observers predicted, no further action has been taken, meaning the initiatives’ fate appears to be up to the voters. Mail ballots go out in mid-October and are due back by Nov. 4. It is pretty rare in our 100-year history of “direct democracy” for the Legislature to adopt initiatives to the Legislature,…

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Second gun initiative certified

Second gun initiative certified

  Boxes of Initiative 591 signatures were delivered to the Elections Division of the Office of Secretary of State in late November.  (UPDATE: Fixes number of signatures filed for I-591) Secretary of State Kim Wyman has officially certified Initiative 591 to go before the legislature this session. I-591 is the second gun-related measure before the legislature and would prohibit government agencies from requiring background checks on firearm recipients unless a uniform national standard is required. Sponsors of I-591 submitted 349,860…

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Giffords, gun advocates headline hearing on rival gun initiatives

Giffords, gun advocates headline hearing on rival gun initiatives

With her husband, Mark Kelly, by her side, gunshot survivor and former Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords testifies before the House Judiciary Committee Tuesday. (Photo courtesy of Legislative Support Services Photo Department) NRA members, Gabby Giffords  and other survivors of gun violence, archbishops, pastors, rabbis, lobbyists and concerned citizens were among those who testified before the House Judiciary Committee Tuesday afternoon on a pair of rival gun-related initiatives to the Legislature. Initiative 594 would require universal background checks on gun purchases…

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Wyman certifies I-594; I-591 check starting soon

Wyman certifies I-594; I-591 check starting soon

Secretary of State Wyman certifies the results of Initiative 594 in her office. (Photo courtesy of Laura Mott) One down, one to go. Soon after our Elections Division’s signature checkers finished reviewing a small sample of Initiative 594 signatures, Secretary of State Kim Wyman officially certified the results of the check Wednesday. I-594 would require universal background checks on gun purchases. Our Elections Division reported that 346,834 signatures were submitted, far over the minimum requirement of 246,372 valid voter signatures….

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I-594 signature check begins

I-594 signature check begins

A checker counts some of the signatures submitted for I-594. (Photo courtesy Lindsay Pryor) Initiative I-594, one of two rival initiatives to the 2014 Legislature dealing with gun control, is now undergoing a signature check. Our Elections Division has a team of signature checkers who began working on Initiative 594 on Thursday. I-594 would require universal background checks on gun purchases in Washington. The initiative would expand on current federal gun laws that apply to licensed dealers but not private…

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Initiative season opens with an Eyman blockbuster

Initiative season opens with an Eyman blockbuster

Washington’s initiative season is open, and much of the early attention is on an attempt by initiative activist Tim Eyman to use a heavy hammer to persuade lawmakers to submit a constitutional amendment to require a two-thirds supermajority for all taxes passed in Olympia. The hammer? If his Initiative 1325 qualifies for the ballot and passes this fall, it would impose an annual $1 billion cut in the state sales tax if legislators refuse to put the constitutional amendment on…

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Final signatures delivered for pro-gun initiative

Final signatures delivered for pro-gun initiative

One day after sponsors of a gun-control initiative turned in their second and final batch of signatures to our Elections Division, supporters of a competing gun measure submitted one more box of signatures Friday afternoon. Sponsors of Initiative 591 delivered what they said were 5,000 signatures Friday after submitting about 340,000 signatures in late November. The measure, filed last May, would prohibit government agencies from confiscating guns or other firearms from citizens without due process, or from requiring background checks…

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More I-594 signatures turned in; additional I-591 sigs coming

More I-594 signatures turned in; additional I-591 sigs coming

After submitting an estimated 250,000 signatures in early October, sponsors of a gun-control measure turned in what they claimed were another 95,000 signatures Thursday afternoon to our Elections Division, one day before Friday’s submission deadline for initiatives to the 2014 Legislature. The estimated 345,000 signatures for Initiative 594 are far above the minimum number of 246,372 valid voter signatures needed to be sent to the Legislature this winter. Our Elections Division recommends that initiative sponsors submit at least 325,000 signatures…

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