The biggest issue is the weaponization of the public investment impact disclosure statements on the ballot.
– Jim Walsh, Chairman of the WAGOP
In the weeks following the election, you may have found yourself wondering why three out of four of Let’s Go Washington’s common-sense, cost-saving initiatives were not approved by the majority of voters. I-2066, the measure to protect energy choice and natural gas, was passed and became law. But these three failed:
• I-2109, to repeal the capital gains tax
• I-2117, to stop the hidden gas tax, and
• I-2124, to opt out of state long-term care tax.
All of these initiatives would have immeasurably improved the everyday lives of Washington residents, especially in a state that has one of the highest costs of living in the nation. So, why did voters vote against their best interests? It’s likely because they didn’t understand what they were voting on due to the convoluted language used by the Left-wing Attorney General in the “Public Investment Impact Disclosure” statements (PIIDs) included in voter pamphlets.
The chair of the Washington State Republican Party Jim Walsh, a sponsor of the initiatives, believes PIIDs were ultimately responsible for dooming the measures. “The biggest issue is the weaponization of the public investment impact disclosure statements on the ballot,” Walsh explained. “Those have been weaponized by the state Attorney General’s Office and were used as a confounding political tactic to confuse voters about how to vote on the initiatives. These PIIDs are a major public policy problem.”
The statute requiring PIIDs states: “The attorney general must prepare a public investment impact disclosure for any ballot measure that repeals, levies, or modifies any tax or fee.”
An experiment conducted by UW political science professor Christopher Adolph and his colleagues found that “When people are uncertain about a referendum, research has suggested they often lead to voting no as a result.”
The state GOP brought a lawsuit all the way to the state Supreme Court to prevent PIIDs from being included in voter pamphlets for the General Election. The lawsuit was centered on the fact that the Attorney General was incapable of writing unbiased PIIDs due to his vocal opposition to the initiatives.
“We sued to try and prevent their use, and that lawsuit went to the state Supreme Court, which ruled on a technicality saying we had mislabeled the lawsuit,” Walsh noted. “They said it was the wrong way to phrase our requested remedy, so it was a complete technicality and a very rare thing for a court to use as a basis for denying a motion.”
Walsh said the state Supreme Court agreed to reconsider the request if it is relabeled. The state GOP is determining the best path forward, but Walsh made it clear that the fight is not over.
The good news is that four out of seven of Let’s Go Washington’s amendments will become law, thanks to the three measures passed by lawmakers in the 2024 Legislative Session. These measures will protect natural gas, create a parents’ bill of rights, restore police pursuits, and prohibit personal income tax on the state and local levels.
At FPIW, we’re celebrating the passage of these four measures, but we’re even more excited about how this movement has changed the landscape of conservative activism in Washington. Let’s Go Washington’s Brian Heywood said he’s been inspired by how many people volunteered to push the initiatives forward, despite the uphill battle LGW faced along the way.
“There’s a lot of people willing to spend an enormous amount of their own personal time and money to fight for what they consider [are] matters of freedom, and I think that’s really cool that we have a state where you can do that,” Heywood shared.
We will continue to support the efforts to rectify the unfair use of PIIDs in this election, and we remain optimistic that four out of seven measures made it to the finish line and will help Washington residents achieve a better quality of life in our beautiful state.
If you’re interested in helping push forward similar initiatives in the future, please consider joining our team of DEFENDERS to advocate for your values in the public square and beyond. You can learn more about FPIW’s stance on public policy topics in our Issues Booklet, which can be found here.
- Want to Change Our Culture? 500,000 DEFENDER Prayer Warriors Are Needed.
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Join us! Please sign up to become a DEFENDER today.
(Sponsored by: FPIW Action • PO Box 5298 Lynnwood, WA 98046-5298 • 425-608-0242)
