| OLYMPIA — On Tuesday, Jan. 6, the Office of the Secretary of State notified the Legislature of the receipt of two initiatives: IL26-001 and IL26-638. Before the initiatives can be certified and submitted to the legislature, signatures on the submitted petition sheets must be verified by trained members of the office’s Elections Division using the state-mandated process of examining a 3% random sample of submitted signatures. Signature verification statistics will be published on a dedicated page on the OSOS Elections website. The Secretary of State is required to notify the Washington State Legislature at the beginning of session of any proposed Initiatives to the Legislature, as well as notifying the legislature when signature verification is complete. If sufficient signatures are verified, the legislature may approve an initiative or send it to voters. If an initiative is rejected by the legislature, or the legislature takes no action by the end of the legislative session, the Secretary of State will certify the initiative for the next general election. The legislature may also pass an alternative proposal to accompany an initiative on the ballot. |
| Washington’s Office of the Secretary of State oversees areas within state government including managing state elections, registering corporations and charities, and governing the use of the state flag and state seal. The office operates the State Archives and the State Library, documents extraordinary stories in Washington’s history through Legacy Washington, and administers the Combined Fund Drive for charitable giving by state employees and the Productivity Board state employee suggestion program. The Secretary of State oversees the state’s Address Confidentiality Program to help protect survivors of crime and the Civic Engagement Program to increase governmental trust and participation for all Washingtonians. |
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