Summary of I-517

In November the people of Washington will vote on Initiative 517. The measure would make several changes to state law concerning signature gathering for initiatives and referendums. Initiative 517 would increase the time period for gathering signatures, require that proposals that receive an adequate number of valid signature proceed to the ballot, change the penalties for interfering with signature gathering, and increase the number of locations, both public and private, where signature gathering can occur. After reviewing the text of I-517 and various legal cases relating to its provisions, here is the conclusion of our study analyzing the proposal . . . READ MORE