Referenda 101: When Yes Means No

With the recent news that anti-tunnel group Protect Seattle Now has obtained more than enough signatures to put a referendum on the tunnel to a public vote, we here at Seattlest thought it might be a good time to offer a refresher course on how this intricate tool of citizen engagement works. Take note: class is in session.

In contrast to initiatives, which allow for new pieces of legislation to be introduced and voted on by the public, referendums focus on repealing legislation that has been recently enacted by putting it to a public vote.

While this may sound easy enough in principle, the referendum process has left voters perplexed in the past. In 2009, Referendum 71, which dealt with expanded domestic partnership benefits, faced issues of mass voter confusion. One poll showed that 10% of respondents had unknowingly voted contrary to how they intended.

The confusion surrounding referendums typically stems from the two-step referendum process, where two sometimes-contradictory questions are asked. In the first step, when signatures are being gathered, the question is should we hold a public vote on this issue? If enough signatures are gathered and the referendum is moved to the ballot, the question then becomes should we vote yes or no on the original piece of legislation?

With the current system, people wishing to repeal specific ordinances would first have to support a referendum being held, but then oppose the actual legislation when it comes to a vote. Conversely, people who want to keep the original ordinance would most likely oppose a public vote, but then vote yes if the referendum was placed on the ballot.

The confusion may also be linked to Washington state voters being more familiar with the initiative process, where people who offer their signature would also be expected to vote yes when the issue came to the ballot. Initiatives are a much more frequent occurrence in Washington -- according to the Washington Secretary of State's office, 139 initiatives have been introduced to the ballot since they were introduced to the state in 1914. Only 36 public referendums have been introduced in that same timeframe.

Washington is one of 21 states that have laws concerning initiatives and referenda, which specifically allow for public citizens to engage directly with the political process by creating and influencing legislation.