Washington 2011 ballot measures

Five ballot measures were on the November 8, 2011 ballot in the state of Washington.

• Two were legislatively referred constitutional amendments, while three were Initiatives to the People.
• Topics included: alcohol, health care, transportation, taxes, state budgets and elections and campaigns.

The Washington State Legislature was in session January 10 through April 24.

The signature filing deadline for the 2011 ballot in Washington was July 8, 2011. A minimum of 241,153 signatures were required for an Initiative to the People. Although an estimated 80 initiatives were filed in 2011, according to reports only 3 campaigns filed signatures by the July deadline. Campaigns included: Initiatives 1125 - state transportation funds, 1176 - long-term care and 1183 - liquor licensing.^[1] As of July 29 all three were certified.

On the ballot[edit]

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
ITP	Initiative 1125	Taxes	Prohibits gas tax and toll revenues to be diverted to non-transportation purposes	d
ITP	Initiative 1163	Taxes	Reenacts background checks, training for long-term care workers	a
ITP	Initiative 1183	Alcohol	Would close state liquor stores; allow state licensing of private parties	a
LRCA	SJR 8205	Elections	Removes a provision about the length of time a voter must reside in Washington to vote for president or vice president	a
LRCA	SJR 8206	State budgets	Would require the transfer of additional funds to the budget stabilization account if the state has received "extraordinary revenue growth"	a

Not on the ballot[edit]

See also: Proposed ballot measures that were not on a ballot

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
ITP	State Liquor Sales, Initiative 1157	Alcohol	Allows stores with a 5-year record of no public safety violations to sell liquor	Withdrawn
ITP	Farm Animal Cruelty Prevention, Initiative 1130 (3)	Animal rights	Adopts new rules for egg-laying hens in Washington
ITP	Motor Vehicle Voter Approval, Initiative 1179 (6)	Transportation	Prohibits any government-imposed motor vehicle charges from taking effect unless approved by voters
ITP	Petition Circulation, Initiative 1113	Direct democracy measures	Makes it a crime to interfere with a signature gatherer or person trying to sign an initiative or referendum petition
ITP	Liquor Privatization, Initiative 1114	Alcohol	Allows stores that are at least 9,000 square feet in size to sell liquor
ITP	Home Foreclosures, Initiative 1116	Admin of gov't	Adds a statute relating to home foreclosures
ITP	Health Insurance, Initiative 1117	Healthcare	Allows state residents to opt out of the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
ITP	Business and Occupation Taxes, Initiative 1118	Taxes	Prohibits taxes on income received by small businesses, raise all other business taxes
ITP	Public Assistance Eligibility Requirements, Initiative 1119	Admin of gov't	Amends the requirements for state public assistance eligibility
ITP	Medical Marijuana Act, Initiative 1121	Marijuana	Relates to providers occupying municipal properties under the medical marijuana act
ITP	Immigration Law Enforcement, Initiative 1122	Immigration	Requires state and local agencies to enforce federal immigration laws
ITP	Candidacy Petition Requirements, Initiative 1126	Elections	Amends the requirements for candidacy petitions
ITP	Sales Tax Measure, Initiative 1127	Taxes	Sales tax would no longer be applicable to goods made in Washington
ITP	Sex Offenders, Initiative 1143	Law enforcement	Requires sex offenders in Washington to wear nondetachable transmitters
ITP	Recall Superior Court Hearings Repeal, Initiative 1144	Direct democracy measures	Would repeal laws providing for superior court hearings to determine the sufficiency of charges for recall
ITP	Online Petition Circulation, Initiative 1145	Direct democracy measures	Allows voters to sign certain petitions online
ITP	Evergreen State College, Initiative 1146	Education	Would cease operation of The Evergreen State College
ITP	Foreign Students, Initiative 1147	Education	Prohibits educating foreign students at regional universities, state universities, community colleges and vocational schools funded or subsidized by taxes
ITP	Tax Subsidies, Initiative 1152	Taxes	Would end certain tax subsidies. Additional collected revenues would fund health care and child care
ITP	Healthcare Funds, Initiative 1156 & 1171 (8)	Taxes	Would fund certain health and child care services with revenues collected through use or sales taxes on certain goods and services
ITP	State Song, Initiative 1158	Admin of gov't	Would change the official Washington state song from “Washington My Home” to “Not In Our House” by Sir-Mix-A-Lot
ITP	Vote for Presidential Candidate, Initiative 1173	Elections	Would allow an elector pledged to a presidential candidate to vote for other candidates
ITP	Marijuana Criminal Penalties, Initiative 1149 (3)	Marijuana	Would remove existing state civil and criminal penalties regarding marijuana
LRCA	Salary Commission Amendment	Admin of gov't	Would authorize the state's independent salary commission to cut lawmakers' pay during tough economic times
ITP	Supermajority Vote Required to Raise Taxes, Initiative 1181 & 1151 (8)	Taxes	Would require a 2/3 supermajority vote or 65% of the Washington State Legislature, or a statewide vote, for tax increases

Local ballot measures[edit]

See also: Local ballot measure elections in 2011

• February 8 • April 26 • August 16 • November 8

See also[edit]

Articles[edit]

• Five measures to appear in the state of Washington, all three initiatives cleared
• Verification checks begin for Washington's 2011 initiatives
• Washington's petition deadline arrives, three initiatives expected to file

External links[edit]

State election crews verify submitted initiative petitions for 2011
Photo credit: Washington Secretary of State's office

• Washington Elections & Voting
• Proposed initiatives 2011
• Washington State's 2011 General Election Online Voters' Guide (dead link)
• The Freedom Foundation's 2011 Initiative Guide

Additional reading[edit]

Editorials[edit]

• The Seattle Times, "Grass roots missing from this year's initiatives," July 21, 2011
• The Herald, "Early take on 3 measures," July 8, 2011

Footnotes[edit]

v • e 2011 ballot measures I&R States Colorado • Maine • Mississippi • Ohio • Washington Non I&R States Louisiana • New Jersey • Texas Political topics Abortion • Admin. of gov't. • Alcohol • Education • Elections • Eminent domain • Gambling • Healthcare • Redistricting • Judicial reform • Labor • State budgets • Taxes • Transportation • Veterans Other Scorecard • Petition drive deadlines • Polls • Litigation (Lawsuits) • Potential measures • Tuesday Count • Changes in 2011 to laws governing ballot measures • Media endorsements • Not on the ballot • State ballot measure websites • Official voter guides Post-election 2011 analyses • 2011 election results • Campaign contributions

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