KIRO NEWSRADIO OPINION

John Curley: Bill would end voter-led initiatives in Washington as we know it

Feb 27, 2025, 10:35 AM | Updated: 10:48 am

Michelle Le (2nd-L), from Issaquah, Washington and other women from the Asian American community co...

Michelle Le (2nd-L), from Issaquah, Washington and other women from the Asian American community collect signatures supporting state initiatives during a rally supporting President Donald Trump on October 10, 2020 in Bellevue, Washington. The rally featured many state political and conservative speakers and advocated that wearing a mask should be optional. (Photo by Karen Ducey/Getty Images)

(Photo by Karen Ducey/Getty Images)

The so-called “initiative killer” continues to be cause for concern as it makes its way through the Washington legislature. Senate Bill 5302 has been heavily criticized from both sides of the aisle.

The bill proposes stringent requirements for petition signature gatherers, including signing legal declarations stating that the information provided by the voter is accurate. Secretary of State Steve Hobbs, a Democrat, has criticized this bill as “trying to fix a problem that doesn’t exist.”

Signature gatherers who do not comply or get information wrong are subject to a $5,000 fine or jail time.

Related from Jake and Spike: Tim Eyman feels initiative process is under fire

‘Initiative killer’ could lead to jail time if signatures aren’t verified

“The John Curley Show” host called out the “initiative killer” as unnecessary and purposefully burdensome to the point of effectively ending the initiative process.

“What signature gatherer can verify, standing in front of Safeway in the rain, that every single one of those is true?” Curley said. “So what happens is, no one will want that job. It’s a way of killing the signature gatherer. It’s a way of killing the initiative which the Democrats have been trying to kill for years and years and years. Because all you have to do is get one sneaky Democrat, or one person that wants to kill this thing to go in, give a false address, and then go, oh, it’s interesting.”

Listen to the entire discussion below. 

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John Curley: Bill would end voter-led initiatives in Washington as we know it