wa-law.org > bill > 2025-26 > HB 2259 > Original Bill
The legislature recognizes that the people have reserved for themselves the power to enact or reject legislation through the initiative and referendum process, as provided in Article II, section 1 of the state Constitution. The legislature determines that this constitutional right must be guarded against fraud and mistake and that reasonable procedural safeguards are necessary to promote the integrity and proper functioning of the initiative and referendum process.
The legislature finds that:
As stated in RCW 29A.84.280, "paying a worker, whose task it is to secure the signatures of voters on initiative or referendum petitions, on the basis of the number of signatures the worker secures on the petitions encourages the introduction of fraud in the signature gathering process. Such a form of payment may act as an incentive for the worker to encourage a person to sign a petition which the person is not qualified to sign or to sign a petition for a ballot measure even if the person has already signed a petition for the measure." Nevertheless, paying a worker based on the number of signatures that worker secures has proliferated in Washington state and is routinely used by ballot measure proponents to qualify initiatives and referenda.
Currently, the law does not effectively deter initiative or referendum sponsors or signature-gathering entities from providing or receiving compensation or gratuity based directly or indirectly on the number of signatures obtained on an initiative or referendum petition. The legislature finds that compensation structures based on signature counts encourage fraud and mistake by incentivizing signature forgery, duplicate signing, or misrepresentation or concealment of the petition's contents.
Washington's record shows a recurring pattern of signature fraud associated with per-signature compensation. For example, state investigators uncovered forged petition sheets submitted in support of Initiative Measure No. 985 in 2008, resulting in a criminal conviction. Elections staff reviewing Initiative Measure No. 1163 in 2011 found hundreds of fabricated signatures, including entire sheets written in a single hand. During the 2012 reviews of Referendum Measure No. 74 and Initiative Measure No. 1185, the secretary of state identified more than 1,000 forged signatures submitted by a circulator paid per signature, who later pleaded guilty. That same year, Initiative Measure No. 1240 petitions were flagged for fabricated names and forged entries, later memorialized in legislative findings. And in 2013, the random sample checks for Initiative Measure No. 517 and Initiative Measure No. 522 revealed what the secretary of state described as some of the most extensive irregularities the office had seen, including thousands of suspect signatures tied to paid circulators who were paid per signature.
The ninth circuit upheld Oregon's restriction on per signature compensation based on evidence from the late 1990s through 2002 which showed a direct relationship between volume-based pay and fraud and a pattern of forged signatures, clipboard stacking, and false circulator certifications. Montana's record showed a similar pattern of abuse. In 2006, a state court removed two initiatives from the ballot after investigators documented forged signatures, falsified circulator affidavits, and misrepresentations by out-of-state paid circulators. The legislature responded by prohibiting per signature compensation, and the ninth circuit later upheld that prohibition as constitutionally permissible.
More recently, the secretary of state's review of a three percent sample of petition signatures submitted in support of Washington initiatives and referenda has failed to detect additional instances of fraud. However, multistate contractors that operate in Washington have been implicated in petition fraud occurring in other states. In 2023, a professional firm that previously worked in Washington state had six circulators in Colorado charged with felonies for submitting forged congressional candidate petitions.
Washington's increasingly active initiative environment also compounds this concern. In recent years, multiple ballot measures have circulated at the same time, including in 2023, when one sponsor sought to qualify six initiatives. To qualify for the ballot, each initiative measure must currently submit at least 308,911 valid signatures within a few months, which in practice means collecting closer to 400,000. These requirements create intense pressure on paid circulators to prioritize speed and volume. Combined with per-signature compensation, this environment rewards high-output tactics and raises the risk of fraud, error, and misrepresentation.
To adequately guard the people's initiative and referendum right against fraud and mistake, the legislature determines that prohibiting compensation or gratuity based directly or indirectly on the number of signatures gathered is necessary.
Other states, including Oregon, Montana, and Arizona, have adopted comparable restrictions on per-signature compensation to protect the integrity of the initiative and referendum process and continued to see initiatives and referenda qualify for the ballot at stable levels. Restricting per-signature compensation has not reduced access to the ballot.
Additionally, the legislature finds that:
In recent years, numerous proposed initiatives and referenda with minimal or no public support have been repeatedly filed with the secretary of state, including dozens of near-identical versions of the same measure. For example, in 2024, there were 18 versions of the same measure filed as initiatives to the people or legislature. And in 2023, one filer submitted 64 measures to the people.
These duplicative and low-support versions of proposed measures are often filed in an attempt to obtain a favorable ballot title or to channel judicial review of the ballot title to a specific judge. These tactics undermine the integrity and fairness of the initiative and referendum process by encouraging strategic manipulation of filing procedures, increasing the risk of inconsistent ballot titles for substantively identical measures.
The legislature further finds that the filing of multiple proposed measures with minimal public support imposes a substantial burden and cost on the secretary of state, the attorney general, and the office of the code reviser. In recent filing cycles, these offices have expended significant staff resources reviewing and processing duplicative proposed measures.
Based on these findings, the legislature determines that requiring a legal voter of the state proposing an initiative or referendum to gather at least 1,000 signatures prior to filing the proposed measure with the secretary of state will alleviate these burdens by ensuring that only proposals with a minimal threshold of public support proceed through the drafting and ballot title process, and facilitate the initiative and referendum process by limiting ballot title- and judge-shopping. The legislature notes that other states, including Oregon and Ohio, require preliminary sponsorship signatures before a measure may be filed, demonstrating that such requirements facilitate the initiative process.
It shall be unlawful to provide or receive money or other consideration for signature gathering based on the number of signatures obtained on an initiative or referendum petition. Nothing herein prohibits providing or receiving money or other consideration for signature gathering which is not based, either directly or indirectly, on the number of signatures obtained.
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A person who has reason to believe that this section has been violated may bring a citizen's action in the name of the state for an appropriate civil remedy, including but not limited to civil penalties, against any initiative or referendum measure sponsor or signature-gathering entity that violates this section.
If the person who brings the citizen's action prevails, the judgment awarded shall escheat to the state, but he or she shall be entitled to recover reasonable attorneys' fees and costs from the defendant as fixed by the court.
In the case of a citizen's action that is dismissed and that the court also finds was brought frivolously or in bad faith, the court may order the person commencing the action to pay all reasonable attorneys' fees incurred by the defendant.
Civil penalties may not exceed $10,000 for each violation of this section.
Any action provided for in this section may be brought in the superior court of the county of residence or principal place of business of the initiative or referendum measure sponsor or signature-gathering entity or the superior court of the county in which a violation occurred.
Any action brought under the provisions of this section must be commenced within two years after the date when the violation occurred.
For the purposes of this section:
"Entity" has the same meaning as in RCW 23B.01.400;
"Person" has the same meaning as in RCW 29B.10.400; and
"Signature-gathering entity" means a person or entity that is employed, paid, or otherwise receives consideration or gratuity for the purpose of soliciting or procuring signatures of voters on an initiative or referendum petition.
If any legal voter of the state, either individually or on behalf of an organization, desires to petition the legislature to enact a proposed measure, or submit a proposed initiative measure to the people, or order that a referendum of all or part of any act, bill, or law, passed by the legislature be submitted to the people, he or she shall file with the secretary of state:
A legible copy of the measure proposed, or the act or part of such act on which a referendum is desired;
A signed affidavit, or electronic submission, that the sponsor is a registered voter;
A filing fee prescribed under RCW 43.07.120; and
A petition, bearing the signatures of at least 1,000 legal voters in support of the proposed measure, including the legal voter's name and the address, city, and county at which he or she is registered to vote. The signature sheets used to collect signatures as required by this subsection must meet the requirements of RCW 29A.72.100, except for the inclusion of the title.
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The secretary of state shall, prior to submitting a copy of the proposed measure to the office of the code reviser under RCW 29A.72.020, verify and canvass the signatures and names of the legal voters submitted pursuant to subsection (1) of this section. The secretary of state shall, by rule, establish procedures to implement this subsection.
The secretary of state may use statistical sampling techniques authorized under RCW 29A.72.230 to verify whether a petition contains the required number of signatures of legal voters.
The secretary of state may not accept for filing any proposed measure submitted pursuant to this section if:
The legal voter failed to submit the documents required under subsection (1)(a) and (b) of this section;
The legal voter failed to submit the filing fee required under subsection (1)(c) of this section; or
The legal voter failed to submit the petition required under subsection (1)(d) of this section or the petition clearly bears insufficient signatures.
Upon verifying that the proposed measure contains the number of signatures required under RCW 29A.72.010(1)(d), and before giving it a serial number, the secretary of state shall submit a copy thereof to the office of the code reviser and give notice to the sponsor of such transmittal. Upon receipt of the measure, the assistant code reviser to whom it has been assigned may confer with the sponsor and shall within seven working days from its receipt, review the proposal and recommend to the sponsor such revision or alteration of the measure as may be deemed necessary and appropriate. The recommendations of the code reviser's office are advisory only, and the sponsor may accept or reject them in whole or in part. The code reviser shall issue a certificate of review certifying that he or she has reviewed the measure and that any recommendations have been communicated to the sponsor. The certificate must be issued whether or not the sponsor accepts such recommendations. Within fifteen working days after notification of submittal of the proposed measure to the code reviser's office, the sponsor, if he or she desires to proceed with sponsorship, shall file the measure together with the certificate of review with the secretary of state for assignment of a serial number, and the secretary of state shall then submit to the code reviser's office a certified copy of the measure filed. Upon submission of the proposal to the secretary of state for assignment of a serial number, the secretary of state shall refuse to make such assignment unless the proposal is accompanied by a certificate of review.
Initiative measures proposed to be submitted to the people must be filed with the secretary of state within ten months prior to the election at which they are to be submitted, and the signature petitions meeting the requirements under RCW 29A.72.010 and 29A.72.150 must be filed with the secretary of state not less than four months before the next general statewide election.
Initiative measures proposed to be submitted to the legislature must be filed with the secretary of state within ten months prior to the next regular session of the legislature at which they are to be submitted, and the signature petitions meeting the requirements under RCW 29A.72.010 and 29A.72.150 must be filed with the secretary of state not less than ten days before such regular session of the legislature.
A referendum measure petition ordering that any act or part of an act passed by the legislature be referred to the people must meet the requirements under RCW 29A.72.010 and 29A.72.150 and be filed with the secretary of state within ninety days after the final adjournment of the legislative session at which the act was passed. It may be submitted at the next general statewide election or at a special election ordered by the legislature.
A proposed initiative or referendum measure may be filed no earlier than the opening of the secretary of state's office for business pursuant to RCW 42.04.060 on the first day filings are permitted, and any initiative or referendum petition must be filed not later than the close of business on the last business day in the specified period for submission of signatures. If a filing deadline falls on a Saturday, the office of the secretary of state must be open for the transaction of business under this section from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on that Saturday.
If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.