Washington’s Attorney General offers strong defense of signature gatherers’ rights

Amidst evidence of signature gatherers being harassed, Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown is offering his support to prosecute those trying to interfere with the initiative and referendum process. This is a refreshing and much-needed defense of the people’s sacred constitutional rights and the rule of law.

This comes after the most recent incident on June 9^th when a man stole a sheet of signatures and drove off in his truck as signature gatherers for an initiative congregated outside of a Safeway in South Hill. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated event. There has been an ongoing problem, as there were arrests in 2025 for similar abuses. There have been continued reports of threats, harassment, and tearing up and stealing signature sheets.

As Attorney General Brown says in a letter to the 39 county prosecutors and more than 250 municipal attorneys:

“The people’s right to legislate is a foundational piece of our governmental structure and political culture. Washington was one of the first states in the country to enshrine in our Constitution the initiative and referenda processes, which secure our citizens’ right to propose new laws and vote on whether to approve or reject laws enacted by the Legislature. For over 100 years, Washingtonians have been able to propose initiatives and referenda by gathering sufficient signatures of registered voters to place these measures on the ballot in a general election.”

The Attorney General is right that the initiative process has a rich tradition in American and Western thought. It finds its origins in the ideals of democracy and a government for the people, by the people. South Dakota was the first state to adopt the process of initiative and referendum in 1898, and later Oregon was the first to implement it fully and ultimately became the national model. In 1912, Washington established the initiative and referendum through the 7^th amendment of its state constitution.

Instead of waiting for lawmakers to pass a bill, citizens can utilize initiatives by writing a proposed law and collecting the proper number of signatures so that voters can directly vote on the matter, bypassing the legislature. This should be an action that is revered and taken seriously, and individuals trying to interfere with the process should be held accountable.

The organization Let’s Go Washington has been active in collecting signatures for multiple initiatives. For Washington State, an initiative needs to have signatures equal to at least 8% of the latest gubernatorial election turnout. So, for 2026, that would be 308,911 valid signatures.

Currently, Let’s Go Washington is trying to reach the threshold before July 2^nd, the cutoff date to submit signatures to the Secretary of State, for an initiative that seeks to repeal the new income tax.

Brown said about the ongoing signature harassment occurring:

“We should not tolerate illegal actions that threaten to disrupt Washington’s democratic process. Threats, intimidation, and violence have no place in our political process. In signature gathering cases, like other criminal cases, the AG’s office can’t bring a case without a referral from a local prosecutor. This letter is a reminder that we are here to help and assist local prosecutors in these cases.” 

His actions here are a superb example of reaching across the aisle to protect the rights of those you disagree with. Although Let’s Go Washington leans largely conservative, and Attorney General Brown is a Democrat, he wants to recognize and ensure the rights of the citizens of Washington to engage in the initiative process.

This important constitutional right of Washingtonians should be encouraged, not met with hostility. No matter what side of an issue someone is on, or what policy they are looking to enact, every citizen in Washington State has the right to engage in this process. The way to work out disagreements is by discussing the merits of the particular arguments, not resorting to harassment and violence.

After all, Article 1, Section 1 of Washington’s constitution proudly proclaims: “All political power is inherent in the people, and governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed and are established to protect and maintain individual rights.”

As noted by Washington’s Attorney General, those attempting to interfere with the lawful exercise of this power should be held accountable.