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| OCTOBER 10, 2012
Election 2012
Get to know your ballot The gist of state and local measures NEWPORT – Ballots will be mailed to Washington state voters next week. This fall, the general election ballot contains eight state measures, including two advisory votes. Topics range from tax issues to some hotly debated issues – legalizing marijuana, allowing same-sex couples to marry, and allowing for charter schools. Two of the statewide measures – one on charter schools (I-1240) and one on tax increases (I-1185) – got to the ballot as an initiative of the people. As a way for the people to enact laws rather than the Legislature, voters can collect enough signatures – 241,153, to be exact – to get the measure on the general election ballot. Referendum measures are laws recently passed by the Legislature that are placed on the ballot because of petitions singed by voters. The legalizing of same-sex marriage falls under this category. All the state measures take a simple majority to pass. Some Pend Oreille County voters will decide on local measures. In the Blueslide and Ruby area of North Pend Oreille County, voters in Fire District 5 will decide on a levy lid lift. Voters around Sacheen Lake will say yes or no on an excess levy for maintenance and operation of the Sacheen Lake Sewer and Water District. As part of our election coverage, The Miner staff took a look at these statewide measures in attempt to explain them in plain terms. Local measures and candidate interviews will appear in an upcoming issue. You can find a composite of our election coverage, from Washington and Idaho primaries up to now at The Miner Online. Visit www.pendoreillerivervalley.com/election.
If approved, I-1240 would allow same-sex marriage OLYMPIA – Washington voters will decide if same sex partners should have the right marry, when voting on Initiative 1240. The state legislature passed Senate Bill 6239 allowing same-sex couples to marry. I N I T I AT I V E 12 4 0 Before CONCERNING MARRIAGE the FOR same-sex couples law could take effect in July, voters filed a petition on this bill, putting it on the November ballot. Washington law currently provides that marriage is a civil contract between a male and a female, who are both at least 18 years old and otherwise capable of marrying. The law prohibits marriage if the parties to the marriage are of the same sex or are closely related, or if a party to the marriage is already married to somebody else. The state also currently maintains a domestic partnership registry. Two individuals of the same sex may enter into a state-registered domestic partnership if they meet certain requirements. Two individuals may also enter into a
state-registered domestic partnership if at least one of them is over 62 years old. The other requirements for entering a domestic partnership are that the couple share a residence, are both at least 18 years old, are not closely related, and neither is married or in a domestic partnership with anyone else. A legal union of two persons that was validly formed in another state or jurisdiction, and that is similar to a domestic partnership, is recognized as a domestic partnership in Washington. If approved, this measure would allow same-sex couples to marry. This measure provides that clergy are not required to perform or recognize any marriage ceremony. No religious organization, or religiously-affiliated educational institution, would be required to participate in the marriage ceremony. Clergy, religious organizations, and religiously-affiliated educational institutions would be immune from any civil claim for refusing to perform or recognize any marriage, or to provide facilities, advantages, privileges, services, or goods related to the performance of a marriage.
Charter schools are on the ballot OLYMPIA – If approved by WashVoters defeated similar measures ington voters this fall, Initiative twice before in Washington state. 1240 would allow Currently, public for up to 40 publicly- I N I T I AT I V E 12 4 0 schools are estabfunded charter CONCERNS CREATION OF lished by local school schools across the a public charter school district boards and state. The charter system cannot be created schools would be open or operated by any to all students. They other entity. They are would operate through approved, primarily funded by the state. The nonreligious, nonprofit organizations with government oversight. SEE INITIATIVE 1240, 9B
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OLYMPIA – I-1185 is the latest attempt by professional initiative organizer Tim Eyman to force the Legislature to approve all tax measures by a two-thirds super-majority. Its organizers’ motivation came close to home when the state increased fees for licensing and other services this past I N I T I AT I V E 118 5 week. CONCERNING APPROV- Many AL FOR tax and fee are increases calling them taxes in disguise, and they would be subject to this initiative if passed. Various versions of this measure have been approved by voters four times in the past. But voter-passed initiatives that limit taxes have a life of just two years in Olympia before the Legislature and the governor can overturn them. Proponents say that Olympia needs to cure its financial woes without taxing its struggling families and teetering small businesses. More importantly, they say, it limits the ability of the union-controlled majority party in the state capitol to take money from taxpayers and give it to government workers. The measure would require that any action by the legislature that raises taxes be approved either by at least 66 percent of both houses of the legislature or by the voters. It would require fee increases, including new fees and increases in existing SEE I-1185, 7A
Voters will weigh in on tax increases
Non-binding advisory vote lets voters weigh in on legislative action
their say on whether these bills should be repealed or kept in place. These are the first two such BY JANELLE ATYEO laws to fall under Tim Eyman’s OF THE MINER Initiative 960, approved by voters in 2007. I-960 requires OLYMPIA – any new tax Washington voters ADVISORY VOTES 1 AND 2 increases that will give their REPEAL OR MAINTAIN ESB 6635 the Legislature opinion on two and HB 2590 regarding tax passes be put advisory votes this increases on the ballot fall. The Legislafor an advisory ture approved two vote. The vote tax increases in the last session, and now the people will have SEE ADVISORY VOTES, 7A
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