Direct democracy is a messy business. It bypasses the negotiation of the ideal legislative process, which is supposed to result in compromise everyone can live with. When it fails to meet the ideal, the result can be a referendum to let the people exercise their power.
Washingtonians did just that with Referendum 88 in 2019 after submitting a record 215,765 signatures. R-88 successfully vetoed the legislature’s adoption of Initiative 1000, which would have required state agencies and publicly funded institutions to consider an applicant’s membership in a minority group when awarding contracts or enrolling students.
But last month, Referendum 90, which would repeal a new law on comprehensive sexual education programs in state schools, broke the record with 264,637 signatures – and sponsors did it with an all-volunteer effort in 90 days during a statewide pandemic shutdown.
“That many signatures in a short period of time is really a testament to creativity, and their ability to comply with both the requirements of the lockdown and engage their supporters,” Secretary of State Kim Wyman said. “The high threshold is designed to screen out emotion and focus on policy that needs to be debated.”
Washingtonians have the early 20th century progressive movement to thank for our system of initiative and referenda. Citizen-led petition drives were the norm until about 20 years ago.
“To do it with all volunteers is true grassroots,” Wyman said.
The law the referendum would repeal, Senate Bill 5395, was passed on a straight party-line vote, following party-line rejection of all 30 amendments allowed to come to the floor for “consideration” by the Democratic leadership. The bill requires all school districts to select an Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction-approved comprehensive sex education curriculum at all grade levels, phasing in adoption over several years.
Anniece Nielsen Barker of Spokane Valley was one of many parents and educators with concerns about content and age appropriateness. Barker said after going to Olympia to testify, “You just can’t be still anymore.”
Shortly after the legislative session ended in early March, Barker and others started making presentations on the OSPI curriculum standards to local groups. Before COVID hit, she felt they were getting momentum and more bookings, and then “boom, everything is done and that felt like a huge kick in the gut.”
Barker’s husband immediately set up a Facebook group “Against 5395” and “within one week we had over 5,000 members,” Barker said. “Even though we were shut down, we had an audience to disseminate information” and a group stretching across the state.
But there was still the shutdown to deal with, and the necessity of collecting “wet” signatures on paper petitions.
While they waited for the attorney general’s office to review the referendum language, Barker and others were brainstorming. The drive-up petition drive was born and A Voice for WA Children committee was created to organize pop-up petition booths.
“Our first signing was at Evergreen Middle School, and the response was amazing. Had over 500 signatures come through, and we were only there for about three hours,” Barker said. “We had a constant flow of traffic. The idea just made it so easy for people. We masked up, we gloved up, we had sanitizer, we were sanitizing clipboards and pens between each driver to make people comfortable.”
After that first Saturday, the committee put together drive-up kits for loan to individuals or groups running their own pop-up stations, with signage, clipboards, petitions, gloves and sanitizer. Masks were in short supply early in the shutdown, and people were asked to provide their own. Instructions to make your own kits were also distributed statewide.
Barker’s group connected with Rise Up Tri-Cities, a similar committee collecting signatures. The Tri-Cities group used sites staffed by volunteers from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. over several days. Barker brought the technique back to the Spokane area.
“People who would come through and sign the petition were so thankful, saying, ‘I didn’t know where to help,’ ” Barker said.
An all-volunteer petition hasn’t made it to the ballot in decades. Barker said there was no opposition until the last two weeks, when a few folks suddenly realized they were for real.
“I don’t think our opposition was worried about us,” Barker said.
When met with hostility by passing motorists, Barker said she and her group would just wave pleasantly.
SB 5395 has the odds stacked against it. According to the Ballotpedia website, 38 referendums have made it to Washington voters since 1914 and “in 81.6% of veto referendums (31 of 38), voters repealed the targeted bill.”
“We can’t idly assume somebody in our government is going to take care of us the way we think is right,” Barker said. “It’s unbelievable that we made history. We made a loud roar, and they’re listening to us now.”
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