Ballot Initiatives — Quaker Voice Action

This year, six initiatives have been certified by the Washington Secretary of State, all aimed at reversing laws passed by the state legislature in recent years. Since Quaker Voice is focused on state decision-making, the fate of these initiatives is well within our scope of action. We are posting to tell you what the Board is planning and to invite your input.

The leadership of the majority party in the legislature has decided to hold hearings on three of the six initiatives. This creates the possibility that they will be voted into law by the legislature itself. Those hearings are being held this week, in front of joint House/Senate committees.

The Quaker Voice Board has decided to submit written testimony against Initiative 2081, to voice – among many concerns — our support for protection for the privacy of LGBTQ+ youth. This action is consistent with our Equality Testimony as articulated in our Testimonies and Issue Areas statement, as well as with a minute adopted by North Pacific Yearly Meeting and deep commitments from Sierra Cascades Yearly Meeting. We will also sign in against the other two initiatives as an organization. Initiative 2111 prohibits income taxes and thus runs counter to our long-standing support for progressive income taxes as one pathway to economic justice. Initiative 2113, increased authorization for vehicular pursuits, puts bystander lives in peril to protect private property, and thus violates the central Quaker belief about the Divine in each of us.

We encourage individuals active with Quaker Voice to express their views on the initiatives as led, but to do so as individuals.

The capital gains tax and the Climate Commitment Act, the targets of two of the remaining initiatives, were priority bills for Quaker Voice when they were passed. We are aware that we will need to work for them again – by advocating for a no vote — in the months before the November election, this time with a much wider set of decision-makers. Over the coming months, the Board will develop plans for doing this in ways that are appropriate to our Quaker approach to legislative advocacy. This is a new sort of challenge for us as a community. Your input is welcome, either through your working group or directly to .

We now have an information page on the initiatives in the Take Action section of the website. Official information on each initiative can be found under “bill information” in the left-hand column on leg.wa.gov. Be sure to search for “initiative” rather than “bill.”

Thank you for your prayerful support.

The Quaker Voice Board