(The Center Square) – A bill introduced this legislative session to add additional requirements for those gathering signatures in Washington state for initiatives would effectively “kill” the process, according to one critic.
Under existing state law, initiative signature gatherers are subject to a variety of restrictions and requirements regarding things such as the size of the paper for the signatures, the information provided both on the paper and by the signee.
Senate Bill 5382, sponsored by Sen. Javier Valdez, D-Seattle, would tack on an additional stipulation that signature gathers attest under penalty of law that all the information the signees provided was correct and was eligible to sign. They would also have to attest that the signee was not compensated or promised compensation for signing. Those found in violation would be guilty of a misdemeanor subject to 364 days in jail and a fine of up to $5,000.
However, Brian Heywood of Let’s Go Washington argued on X that the bill “pretends to protect the initiative process while making the gathering process more difficult and creating risk of prosecution if you get their new rules wrong subject of course to interpretation of legally challenged and biased courts. The legislators are not stupid about this process and they are making suggestions they think the average voter may think are reasonable while at the same time deceptively killing the initiative process.”
Heywood and Let’s Go Washington were the sponsors of seven initiatives last year, three of which were approved by the Legislature and one of which was approved by voters in November, while the remaining three were rejected.
“In fact, in this state where you never have to show ID to vote, one might argue that they are even setting standards higher than those required for exercising your most important constitutional right and duty to vote,” Heywood said. “How is the gatherer to confirm the information is correct?”
The initiative process in recent years has been subject to revisions that opponents of those changes say place weight on the scale. During the 2024 election, the Washington GOP claimed the Attorney General’s Office “weaponized” the ballot impact statements for the initiatives, which is required under a state statute. A bill introduced last year would have created a buffer zone between signature gatherers and protesters after individuals working with Let’s Go Washington claimed harassment from protesters, but the bill did not clear its original committee.
Additionally, a lawsuit was filed against the Let’s Go Washington initiatives by Defend Washington seeking to invalidate them, but it was unanimously rejected by the state Supreme Court. However, the lawsuit still drew outrage from Let’s Go Washington, whose legal counsel said they were not informed of the lawsuit by either the AGO or the Secretary of State’s Office.
SB 5382 has been referred to the State Government, Tribal Affairs & Elections Committee, but is not scheduled for a public hearing.
