Secret effort to invalidate initiatives on the fall ballot fails

(The Center Square) – Representatives of the Let’s Go Washington voter advocacy group say they were blindsided Friday afternoon at learning the state Supreme Court was about to decide whether to invalidate all voter-backed initiatives on the Nov. 5 ballot. The court unanimously rejected their demands and dismissed the case.

This November, voters will decide on initiatives repealing the capital gains tax, prohibiting carbon tax credit trading and repealing provisions of the 2021 Climate Commitment Act, and allowing people to opt out of the state’s WA Cares long-term care program. A fourth initiative, sponsored by the Business Industry Association of Washington, would prohibit state and local governments from restricting access to natural gas.

The situation that came to a head on Friday afternoon involves two cases.

Earlier this year, the anti-initiatives organization, Defend Washington, filed a lawsuit against Secretary of State Steve Hobbs, claiming signatures to qualify the initiatives for the ballot were gathered illegally. This would mean the measures would need to re-qualify for the ballot. Attorney General Bob Ferguson represented the secretary of state in the case.

In another case, the Washington Conservation Action Defense Fund sued Hobbs in an attempt to invalidate the secretary of state’s certification of the initiative to prevent the government from restricting natural gas.

“These frivolous attempts to keep the voters from having a voice when it comes to energy choice are undemocratic and nothing short of voter suppression,” Greg Lane, BIAW executive vice president, said in a news release. “In essence, they are conceding through these desperate tactics that they know Washingtonians want energy choice.”

He concluded, “We’re pleased the over half a million people who signed our petition to stop gas bans in Washington will have the opportunity to vote on this in November.”

Jackson Maynard, executive director and counsel of the Citizen Action Defense fund, offered his legal opinion on behalf of himself.

“In 22 years of legal practice, I’ve never seen a case progress this far without all necessary parties being before the court or at least being given the courtesy of a phone call about litigation as important as this,” he told The Center Square. “Participation in the initiative process is a fundamental right, and the idea that the state Supreme Court with the stroke of a pen could’ve eliminated the voices of the millions who signed the petitions in this case without even hearing from all impacted parties is really troubling.”

The Attorney General’s Office and Secretary of State’s Office weren’t immediately available for comment Friday night. 

This is a developing story.