Former Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed.

Read Sam Reed’s letter here.

OLYMPIA – A warning from a former Washington secretary of state ought to give lawmakers second thoughts about a bill that aims to restrict the people’s right of initiative, says Sen. Jeff Wilson, R-Longview.

Former Secretary of State Sam Reed is warning lawmakers that Senate Bill 5382 will suppress voter participation in the political process and impair an “honored tradition” that has been embedded in the Washington constitution since 1912. Reed served as the state’s top elections official from 2001 to 2013.

A vote on the bill is now scheduled for Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. in the Senate State Government, Tribal Affairs and Elections Committee. Lawmakers face a deadline Friday to pass bills from policy committees.

Wilson, Republican lead on the Senate committee, said Reed’s timely warning underscores the concerns presented by the public when the bill got a hearing Feb. 4. The measure would force elections officials to reject valid signatures and even entire petitions for reasons that have nothing to do with ballot security. Initiative campaigns must turn in at least 308,911 valid signatures to qualify an initiative for consideration by the Legislature or the people.

“We’re being told this bill somehow would prevent fraudulent signatures, even though fraud is not a problem in Washington state, and our signature-checking procedures are more than sufficient,” Wilson said. “The real problem is that the people had the temerity last year to qualify seven initiatives challenging the progressive agenda. My colleagues don’t see a problem with their agenda, but rather with the fact that the people are standing up to them. And they want to hit the mute button.”

The bill requires signature gatherers to sign a statement on each petition indicating that to the best of their knowledge signers provided correct information, something about which they cannot know. The measure threatens signature gatherers who attest falsely with up to a year in jail and a $5,000 fine. It also requires that petition signers provide addresses that match their voter registrations.

In his email, Reed criticizes provisions of the bill that survive in a substitute version that will be considered Tuesday. He said it would be very difficult for signers to comply with the address requirement. “During my tenure and during the tenure of other Secretaries of State, both Republicans and Democrats, it has always been a solemn and sacred responsibility to count a voter’s signature if it matches but reject it if it doesn’t,” he said. “[The bill] will only result in willing, active and engaged voters having their voices silenced because of a non-matching address.”

• In some cases, voters might sign petitions a year before petitions are submitted for the state’s signature checks, Reed said. “If that voter moves in the interim… that voters’ signature will not count. That should not happen. As Thurston County Auditor, I learned that a large proportion of the voters move every year. This is particularly true with renters.”
• Many voters use their post office box numbers when providing addresses. Under the bill, “doing so would result in rejection even though the voter’s signature matches the signature on file,” Reed said.
• Reed said the rules will require the Secretary of State’s office in many cases to perform cumbersome checks of every signature submitted, rather than relying on quicker and cheaper statistical sampling.
• Reed argues voters will be disenfranchised if petitions are thrown out if signature gatherers fail to sign them. He urges a clarifying amendment to ensure valid signatures are not thrown out. “A legitimate voter should not be penalized based on the actions (or inactions) of the circulator,” he said.
• Reed also argues volunteer signature gatherers should be exempted from the requirements and potential penalties “so as to encourage, and not deter, volunteers from exercising their right under the first amendment to petition their government.”