| Elections in Washington |
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The U.S. state of Washington has had a system of direct voting since gaining statehood in 1889. Citizens and the state legislature both have the ability to place new legislation, or legislation recently passed by the state legislature, on the ballot for a popular vote. Washington has three types of ballot measures that can be voted on in a general election: initiatives, referendums, and legislatively referred constitutional amendments. In order to be placed on the ballot, supporters of a measure must gather signatures from registered voters.[1] From 1898 to 1912, the only ballot measures allowed were legislatively referred constitutional amendments. In 1912, an amendment successfully passed to create a citizen-led process for initiatives and referendums, and the first successful initiative was passed in 1914.[2]
Since adopting this process, ballot measures have become widely accepted as part of Washington's electoral system. As of 2020,[update] over 2,000 different initiatives had been filed with the state, along with a significantly smaller number of referendums.[3][4][5][6] Of those, only a fraction have received the required signatures to be placed on the ballot.[2] In recent years, ballot measures have been used to legalize politically contentious policies such as assisted suicide, same-sex marriage, and marijuana use.[7][8][9] The use of signature gatherers (workers paid to gather signatures for ballot measures) has attracted significant controversy in the state, as has some activists' aggressive approach to ballot measures.[10][11]
- ^ "How to Sponsor an Initiative". Office of the Secretary of State. Archived from the original on September 18, 2020. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
- ^ a b Wilma, David; Oldham, Kit (October 30, 2003). "With women voting, Washington voters favor Progressive Theodore Roosevelt for president, approve initiative, referendum, and recall powers, and elect first women to statewide office and to legislature on November 5, 1912". HistoryLink. Archived from the original on November 24, 2021. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
- ^ "Yearly Summary of Initiatives to the People". Office of the Secretary of State. Archived from the original on March 20, 2022. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
- ^ "Yearly Summary of Initiatives to the Legislature". Office of the Secretary of State. Archived from the original on March 20, 2022. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
- ^ "Yearly Summary of Referendum Bills". Office of the Secretary of State. Archived from the original on May 14, 2021. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
- ^ "Yearly Summary of Referendum Measures". Office of the Secretary of State. Archived from the original on March 20, 2022. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
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