How many signatures does it take to put an initiative on the ballot?
Legally, the number of signatures required for a ballot initiative in Washington State is 8% of the number of votes cast in the most recent election for state governor. As of 2017, that number is 259,622. All of the signatures must be from registered Washington voters, and each voter’s signature must match their signature on the voter rolls.
In practice, initiative campaigns typically collect 300,000 signatures or more to make sure at least 259,622 of them can be verified: no one wants to be the initiative that didn’t make the ballot because they turned in 259,621 valid signatures and one illegible scrawl.
How do ballot initiative campaigns gather signatures today?
Well-funded campaigns can spend up to $1 million or more on paid signature-gatherers, who typically travel from state to state collecting signatures for initiatives. Campaigns can also recruit and rely on volunteers—but either way, building or buying the ability to collect 300,000 signatures is a barrier.
Who are you?
We’re a group of people who’ve been working and volunteering for progressive causes for years—and we’ve noticed that when it comes to ballot initiatives, we spend a lot of time re-inventing the wheel. We’re hoping to put that time to better use, and to make it easier to volunteer.
How many volunteers do you need?
We need 15,000 people who are each willing to collect 20 signatures, or 7,500 people willing to collect 40 signatures, or 300,000 Washington voters who each collect their own signature, or any combination in between. Many hands make light work!
Where Can I Gather Signatures?
Any public place and some private places. See the Secretary of State’s website for details.
What initiative are you supporting first?
Our goal is to build a network of volunteers who gather signatures for several initiatives. We’re starting out by gathering signatures for Initiative ###, automatic voter registration. Automatic voter registration is a proposal that has bipartisan support in our state, and (as far as we can tell) the only reason it’s been stalled in the state legislature for years is that no one’s really lobbying hard for it.
Why an initiative to the legislature?
An initiative to the legislature takes longer to become law, but also has a longer window for signature-gathering: initiatives to the legislature can gather signatures between March 8 and December 27 this year, and the initiative will then appear on the November 2018 ballot if the legislature fails to pass it. An initiative to the people would appear on the November 2017 ballot, but would also require collecting 300,000 signatures between January 7 and July 7.
Once we’ve ramped up to where we can gather 300,000 signatures in six months, though, initiatives to the people are definitely on the table.
Why not start by gathering signatures for a state income tax, or a carbon tax, or education funding, or…?
For an initiative that will draw significant or well-funded opposition, gathering signatures alone wouldn’t be enough—so we’re starting with an initiative that’s likely to be unopposed after it clears the signature-gathering hurdle.
Once we’ve established that our network of volunteers can put an initiative on the ballot, we’ll be looking to partner with strong progressive campaigns to support initiatives that require campaigning.
Why not put a petition online and collect e-signatures?
Maybe someday, but as of today state law requires that ballot initiative petitions be printed on paper.
Can I print my own petition and mail it in to you?
We’re looking into this as a possibility, but for now we’d rather mail you a petition than run the risk of collecting 20 signatures that can’t be turned in. A valid petition has to be printed double-sided on 11″ x 14″ paper, and there are detailed legal requirements for the language that appears on both sides.
Can you send me more than one petition at a time?
Yes! Please contact us and let us know how many you need.