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Research the ballot issues at
the League of Women
Voters’ one-stop shop for nonpartisan
election information. Type in your address
to see the races and issues that will appear
on your ballot. What are the arguments and
groups favoring and opposing each ballot
issue?
What is onmy ballot?
Initiatives and referenda
In addition to electing candidates for various federal, state and local offices,
voters alsowill find statewide issues on their ballots. Depending onwhere
you live, votersmayfind regional and local issues aswell.
Whydo people inWashington state vote on issues aswell as candidates?
The answer goes back to the early1900s. Even though our state
government has the same checks and balances as our national government,
the people ofWashingtondecided to build an extra “check” into the state
constitution. In1912, they amended the constitution togive citizens the
power to bypass the state legislature andpropose andpass laws directly.
Because the people can initiate legislation, we call this constitutional power
the power of initiative. A relatedpower is the power of referendum. The
referendumpower is usedwhen the legislature refers a law or a proposed
law to the people for a vote.
TWO TYPES OF INITIATIVES
INITIATIVE TO THE PEOPLE
An Initiative to the People
is placed on theNovember
ballot through the collection
of signatures. To qualify,
an initiativemust have valid
signatures from8percent of the
number of voterswho voted in the
most recent election for governor.
In2016 that numberwas 246,372.
INITIATIVE TO THE LEGISLATURE
An Initiative to the Legislature
must alsohave the same number
of signatures, but the next step is
different: This type of initiative
gets submitted to the legislature
at the next regular session in
January.
THE LEGISLATURE CAN:
• Adopt the initiative as proposed,
inwhich case it becomes law.
• Reject or refuse to act on the
initiative, which thenmoves it
to the ballot in the next state
general election.
• Approve an alternative, inwhich
case both the original proposal
and the alternative are placed
on the ballot at the next state
general election.
TWO TYPES OF REFERENDA
REFERENDUMMEASURE
A referendummeasure is a law
passed by the legislature but
referred to the voters because
enough citizens signed a petition
to review the law. The number of
signersmust be at least 4percent
of the number of peoplewho voted
in themost recent election for
governor.
REFERENDUM BILL
A referendum bill is a law
proposed by the legislature but
referred to the voters to determine
whether the voters agree that the
law should be passed.
2016
statewide
initiatives &
referenda
INITIATIVES TO THE PEOPLE
• I-1433, boosting the state
minimumwage to $13.50
anhour over four years, up
from the current $9.47per
hour
• I-1464, creating a campaign-
finance system; allowing
residents to direct state funds
to candidates; repealing
the non-resident sales-
tax exemption; restricting
lobbying employment
by certain former public
employees; and adding
enforcement requirements.
• I-1491, gun restrictions
for those coveredunder
temporary “extreme risk”
protection orders
• I-1501, dealingwith
protection of seniors and
vulnerable individuals
fromfinance crimes and
victimization
INITIATIVES TO
THE LEGISLATURE
• I-732, establishing carbon
taxes
• I-735, opposingCitizen
United court decision
PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO
THEWASHINGTON STATE
CONSTITUTION
Senate Joint Resolution
8210, whichwouldmove up
the deadline for the State
RedistrictingCommission to
approve its final redistricting
plan from January1 of each
year ending in “2” toNovember
15 of eachyear ending in “1.”
LOCAL ISSUES
Some local jurisdictions
(cities and counties) can also
have initiatives, and often
cities, counties and taxing
districts have other measures,
particularly fundingmeasures,
on the ballot.
What is the
Electoral
College?
The Electoral College is an indirect
method for electing the president that was
established by the Founding Fathers as a
compromise between letting Congress or
the people elect the president. TheU.S.
Constitution authorizes each state to appoint
a number of electors equal to the number of
representatives and senators that each has
inCongress, for a total of 535 electors. The
23rdAmendment added three electors for the
District of Columbia, bringing the total to 538.
Amajority is reached at 270 electoral votes.
Once ballots have been cast onElectionDay,
the Electoral College “officially” votes. Most
states— all but Maine andNebraska—
award all of their electoral votes to thewinner
of the state’s popular vote. When the people
of Washington state vote, we are, in effect,
instructing theWashington state electors to
cast all 12 electoral votes for thewinner of
Washington’s popular vote.
The election results are not official until after
the electors cast their votes in each state
inDecember. Results are announcedwhen
Congress convenes in January. The term of
the preceding president ends and that of the
incoming president begins at noon on January
20. After being sworn inby the chief justice of
theU.S. Supreme Court, the newpresident is
on the job. The American people havemade
their choice and are looking for the president
to prove them right.
ELECTION2016: YOURCRITICALROLE IN THEELECTIONPROCESS
