A conservative group's effort to eliminate Washington's capital gains tax, among other initiatives, took a step forward last week when it turned in a petition with nearly 420,000 signatures to the Secretary of State's Office.
The six initiatives pursued by Let's Go Washington are part of a larger effort to push back on legislation passed by the Democratic-controlled Legislature.
The group's goal is to get all six on the November 2024 ballot.
On Thursday afternoon, 424,896 signatures for the sixth and final initiative, which advocates for allowing people to opt out of Washington's long-term care program established by the WA Cares Act, were turned in. Allowing people to opt out could fiscally undermine the program, according to Jessica Gomez, campaign manager of We Care For WA Cares.
Let's Go Washington, which is being bankrolled by Redmond businessman Brian Heywood, has spent more than $6 million to gather the signatures since June with a mix of volunteers and paid signature collectors.
"I'm putting this out there for a vote," Heywood said this week. "Let's give everybody a vote on these, and if they don't pass, if I'm wrong and people don't support these ideas, then the people have spoken."
If the signatures for each initiative are certified, they would move on to the upcoming legislative session, which starts Jan. 8. The Legislature can then adopt, reject or propose an alternative policy.
Rejecting an initiative, or not acting on one, would send it to appear on the general election ballot in November. Or, lawmakers could propose alternative policy, which would place initial and alternative versions of the initiatives on the ballot.
If all six initiatives are certified, it would be the first time the state has seen this many sent to the Legislature for consideration. The historic high was in 1970 when three initiatives on litter control, development and taxes were certified and sent to the Legislature.
Since 2019, Democrats have had a majority in both the Legislature and governor's office, which has allowed them to pass progressive legislation. The capital gains tax, for example, is lawmakers' effort to introduce more progressive taxing in Washington, which, according to a 2018 report released by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, has the most regressive tax system in the U.S.
In its first year, nearly $900 million was collected from the capital gains tax, which places a 7% tax on profits gained from the sale of stocks and bonds exceeding $250,000, according to the Department of Revenue. The law was previously challenged and, in March, was upheld by the Washington Supreme Court.
Petitions must contain signatures of at least 324,516 registered voters to be certified, which is 8% of all eligible voters in Washington according to the Secretary of State's Office.
In 1912, Washington became one of the first states to adopt the initiative and referendum process, providing the opportunity for citizens to make and remake laws directly. The intent was to provide a check over legislative decisions.
Two different types of initiatives can be pursued: initiatives to the legislature and initiatives to the people. Both require the same amount of signatures. Any registered voter can participate in this process to create, amend or repeal state law.
Sponsors of the initiatives have accused Democrats and allied groups of an illegal campaign to block the measures from getting on the 2024 ballot. The alleged tactics by Democrats range from a public hotline to report sightings of petition gatherers, alleged harassment and even cash incentives for paid signature gatherers to leave the state.
Along with the effort to repeal the capital gains tax and give people the ability to opt out of WA Cares, Let's Go Washington also wants to:
The secretary of state will notify the Legislature on the first day of the session about expected initiatives to be presented. Due to the unprecedented number of initiatives, the secretary of state will work with the Legislature to receive funding for more staffing and resources to meet the demand within the required time frame.
Let's Go Washington says it has submitted more than 2.6 million signatures for all six initiatives.
"Our aim is to complete all certifications mid-February," Stuart Holmes, Washington's director of elections, said in an email. "It certainly isn't a small order, but we are confident in our ability to achieve this expectation.
