Nineteenth Legislative District state Sen. Jeff Wilson, R-Longview, has responded to public opposition and harassment faced by ballot initiative signature gatherers with a new bill, far in advance of the state's 2026 legislative session.
Wilson and his team announced Friday, Oct. 3, proposed legislation that would create “no-protest zones” near people gathering signatures and make repeated interference with signature gathering a felony.
According to a news release from Wilson, the bill has been announced far in advance of the legislative session and without a draft copy. It comes after recent reports of harassment and even crimes committed against signature gatherers in Washington state.
“Normally, we wait until the draft is finished before we announce a bill,” Wilson said. “But over the last two weeks, we have seen such a campaign of harassment and intimidation at signature-gathering tables that it calls for an immediate response.”
While the draft bill has not yet been published, a news release from Wilson stated the main protections he seeks to implement for those gathering signatures in Washington state. The first point listed by Wilson is making it a gross misdemeanor to protest within 25 feet of a “canvasser" or a person signing a petition for a referendum or initiative. The law would also make defacing petitions or harassing signature gatherers a gross misdemeanor.
A gross misdemeanor is punishable in the state of Washington by up to a year in a local jail or a $5,000 fine.
Wilson said the new bill would also create a new class C felony under state law for repeated violations of this law or for “malicious interference” with the signature gathering process. It would allow prosecutors to charge individuals who steal initiative petitions. A standard class C felony in the state of Washington is punishable by up to five years in prison or a $10,000 fine. It is unclear if the new class C Felony would come with different sentencing guidelines.
Interfering with a signature gathering effort “by threats, intimidation or any other corrupt means or practice," is already a gross misdemeanor in the State of Washington. However, Wilson said the new bill would make it easier for law enforcement to enforce the law.
In the announcement of the proposed legislation by Wilson, he said he was pushed to announce the bill due to recent reports of “attacks on canvassers” and signature gatherers. According to the release, organizers of the signature gathering effort claim there have been more than 30 attacks that range from verbal exchanges and shouting matches to physical altercations.
Wilson also suggests in the announcement that recent opposition efforts have been organized by major political players in the state of Washington.
“The opposition is being backed by some of the major players on the Washington political scene,” Wilson said. “If there is any connection between the campaign and the violent attacks we are seeing on signature gatherers, shame on them, and shame on us in the Legislature for turning a blind eye.”
As reported by The Center Square, the initiatives drawing the opposition are backed by the conservative political committee Let’s Go Washington. They are IL26-001, which would re-enact a previous law to expand the rights of parents and guardians of public-school children, and IL26-638, which would prohibit students defined as biologically male from competing in school sports designated for female students only.
