Washington Ballot Measures

Ballotpedia completed an inventory of Washington ballot measures from 1889 to 2025. Washington voters have decided on 511 ballot measures placed on the ballot by successful citizen initiatives and theWashington State Legislature.

The inventory of Washington statewide ballot measures is part of Ballotpedia'sHistorical Ballot Measure Factbooks, which document nearly 200 years of direct democracy in the United States. This ongoing research effort will provide an unparalleled resource for researchers, reporters, and voters on how ballot measures have evolved, the issues they've covered, and the role they have played in our civic life.

Notable topics

Notable topics appearing on the Washington ballot include women's suffrage, abortion, taxation, assisted death, marriage, and marijuana.

• Voters decided on the location of the state capital. In1889, voters were asked where the "permanent location of the seat of government" should be. Voters wrote in their preferences. As selecting a capital required a majority vote, not a plurality vote, a runoff ballot measure election was held between the top three locations in1890.Olympia won the election with 72.7% of the vote.

• The question ofwomen's suffrage was rejected twice before being approved on the third attempt. in1889, male voters—since women could not yet vote—rejected the amendment, with 68.3% voting 'no.' In1898, opposition remained, with 40.4% voting against women's suffrage. In1910, the measure passed, with 63.8% voting 'yes.'

• In1896, voters approved a constitutional amendment requiring individuals to be able to read and speak English in order to vote.

• Voters approved aconstitutional amendment to establish the initiative and referendum process in 1912.

• The original Washington State Constitution included a provision prohibiting noncitizens from owning land there. The state legislature asked voters to amend or repeal this provision five times. First, in1914, 79% of voters rejected amending the provision to allow noncitizens to own land as long as they're residents. In1950, the legislature proposed a narrower amendment, allowing the state's northern neighbors, Canadians, to own land in Washington. That amendment was approved with 50.2%. In1954, voters approved a constitutional amendment allowing corporations, based in the U.S. but with noncitizen shareholders, to own land in the state. In1962, the legislature proposed repealing the entire provision, but voters rejected the measure, with 51.7% voting 'no.' Then, in1966, voters again decided on a measure to repeal the provision, which passed with 50.9% of the vote.

• In1922, voters rejectedReferendum 13, which would have provided that vaccination is not required to attend school.

• In1924, voters rejectedInitiative 49, which would have required all children between the ages of seven and sixteen years to attend public schools.

• In1956 and1958, voters rejected ballot measures to establishright-to-work laws.

• Washington was thefirst state to legalize abortion via ballot measure. In1970, voters passed a referendum legalizing abortion for women "not quick with child" and within the "four lunar months after conception." Before Referendum 20, abortion was a crime in Washington. Then, in1984, voters rejected a ballot initiative to prohibit state funds from being used for abortions. In1991, voters approved a ballot initiative to provide that "the state may not deny or interfere with a woman's right to choose to have an abortion prior to viability of the fetus, or to protect her life or health."

• In1972, voters approved a state constitutional amendment, similar to the proposed federal Equal Rights Amendment, providing that a person's rights shall not be denied or limited based on the person's sex.

• In1975, voters rejected a constitutional amendment to allow for state financial assistance for students attending private schools. From 1996 to 2000, voters decided on three ballot initiatives related toschool choice policies—Initiative 173 (1996),Initiative 177 (1996), andInitiative 729 (2000). Voters rejected the ballot measures, which related to vouchers and charter schools.

• In 1987, voters rejectedReferendum 41, which would have required the state to petition the U.S. Supreme Court regarding the power of theU.S. Federal Reserve System.

• From 1993 to 2015, voters approved a series of citizen-initiated ballot measures to limit taxes or spending, but the Washington Supreme Court found at least some provisions of each one to be unconstitutional. The ballot measures wereInitiative 601 (1993),Initiative 695 (1999),Initiative 722 (2000),Initiative 747 (2001),Initiative 960 (2007),Initiative 1053 (2010),Initiative 1185 (2012), andInitiative 1366 (2015).

• Voters approved aballot initiative providing fortop-two primaries in2004.

• In 2012, Washington, along with Maine and Maryland, became the first state to legalize same-sex marriage viaballot measure.

• Also in 2012, Washington, along with Colorado, became the first state to approve aballot initiative legalizing recreational marijuana.

Statistics

Closest and widest margins

Of the 511 ballot measures, nine were decided by less than a percentage point of the vote. The top five closest measures are below:

Closest vote margins for Washington statewide ballot measures, 1889-2025
Measure	Year	Yes votes		No votes		Vote margin	Outcome
		#	%	#	%
Initiative 348	1977	470,147	49.95%	471,031	50.05%	-0.10%	d
SJR 8212	1990	606,683	49.94%	608,223	50.06%	-0.12%	d
HR 61	1972	645,115	50.13%	641,746	49.87%	0.26%	a
Initiative 120	1991	756,653	50.14%	752,354	49.86%	0.28%	a
Initiative 57	1930	116,436	50.17%	115,641	49.83%	0.34%	a

The following five measures had the widest vote margins by percentage:

Widest vote margins for Washington statewide ballot measures, 1889-2025
Measure	Year	Yes votes		No votes		Vote margin	Outcome
		#	%	#	%
Referendum 30	1958	52,223	6.05%	811,539	93.95%	-87.90%	d
Referendum 26	1946	69,490	13.43%	447,819	86.57%	-73.14%	d
Initiative 97 and Alternative 97B	1988	1,307,638	85.36%	224,286	14.64%	70.72%	a
HJR 4220	2010	2,082,465	84.62%	378,634	15.38%	69.24%	a
Initiative 18	1916	48,354	15.51%	263,390	84.49%	-68.98%	d

Washington ballot measure topics

Washington ballot measures have addressed 79 unique topics, with some addressing multiple topics in one measure. The top 10 most common topics addressed are:

1. Taxes (140 measures)
2. Education (38 measures)
3. Property (38 measures)
4. Bond issues (31 measures)
5. Business regulation (31 measures)
6. State and local government budgets, spending, and finance (29 measures)
7. Elections and campaigns (28 measures)
8. State judiciary (23 measures)
9. Transportation (24 measures)
10. County and municipal governance (22 measures)

By the decade

The average number of measures per decade was 34. The decade with the most ballot measures was the 2010s, with 73. Of those, 41 (56%) were approved, and 35 (44%) were defeated. The decade with the highest approval rate was the 1960s, which featured 51 measures: 38 (75%) were approved, and 13 (25%) were defeated. The decade with the lowest approval rating was the 2020s. The decade featured 16 ballot measures—three (19%) were approved and 13 (81%) were defeated.

By type

See also:Types of ballot measures in Washington

There have been eight different types of ballot measures in Washington.

In 2007, voters approvedInitiative 960, which required an automatic statewide advisory question on bills to increase tax revenue. In2023, Gov.Jay Inslee (D) signed Senate Bill 5082, which repealed the advisory question requirement. A total of 40 advisory questions were on the ballot between 2012 and 2022.^[1]

Legislatively referred measures have had slightly better success at the ballot box than citizen-initiated measures. Legislatively referred measures were approved approximately 58% of the time, as compared to 47% for ballot initiatives.

Background

Citizen-initiated ballot measures

In Washington, citizens have the power to initiate constitutional amendments, state statutes (direct and indirect), and veto referendums. These powers were established with voter approval of aconstitutional amendment in 1912.

Initiated state statutes

See also:Initiated state statute

Aninitiated state statute is acitizen-initiated ballot measure that amends state statute. There are 21 states that allow citizens to initiate state statutes, including 14 that provide fordirect initiatives and nine (9) that provide forindirect initiatives (two provide for both). Anindirect initiated state statute goes to the legislature after a successful signature drive. The legislatures in these states have the option of approving the initiative itself, rather than the initiative appearing on the ballot.

In Washington, thenumber of signatures required for a direct initiated state statute, called anInitiative to the People (ITP), is equal to 8% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election. Signatures for direct initiatives are due at least four months prior to the general election. A simple majority vote is required for approval.

Indirect initiated state statutes

See also:Indirect initiated state statute

Anindirect initiated state statute is acitizen-initiated ballot measure that amends state statute. There are nine (9) states that allow citizens to initiate indirect state statutes.

While a direct initiative is placed on the ballot once supporters file the required number of valid signatures, an indirect initiative is first presented to the state legislature. Legislators have a certain number of days, depending on the state, to adopt the initiative into law. Should legislators take no action or reject the initiative, the initiative is put on the ballot for voters to decide.

In Washington, thenumber of signatures required for an indirect initiated state statute, called anInitiative to the Legislature (ITL), is equal to 8% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election. Signatures for indirect initiatives are due at least 10 days prior to the beginning of the legislative session in the year of the targeted election.

In Washington, theLegislature has three options regarding Initiatives to the Legislature:

• (1) The Legislature can adopt an Initiative to the Legislature, in which case the initiative is enacted into law without a vote of electors;
• (2) The Legislature can reject or not act on the initiative, in which case the initiative is placed on the ballot at the next state general election; or
• (3) The Legislature can approve an alternative to the proposed initiative, in which case both the original proposal and the legislative alternative are placed on the ballot at the next state general election.

If an indirect initiative goes to the ballot, a simple majority vote is required for approval.

Veto referendums

See also:Veto referendum

Aveto referendum is acitizen-initiated ballot measure that asks voters whether to uphold or repeal an enacted law. This type of ballot measure is also calledstatute referendum,popular referendum,people's veto, orcitizen's veto. There are 23 states that allow citizens to initiate veto referendums.

In Washington, thenumber of signatures required for a veto referendum is equal to 4% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election. Signatures for veto referendums are due 90 days following the final adjournment of the legislative session at which the targeted bill was passed. A simple majority vote is required for voter approval.

Legislative referrals

Legislatively referred constitutional amendments

See also:Legislatively referred constitutional amendment

In Washington, a referred constitutional amendment requires atwo-thirds (66.67%) vote in each chamber of theWashington State Legislature during one legislative session. That amounts to a minimum of 66 votes in theWashington House of Representatives and 33 votes in theWashington State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.

Legislatively referred state statutes

See also:Legislatively referred state statute

In Washington, a referred state statute (called areferendum bill in Washington) requires a majority vote in each chamber of theWashington State Legislature during one legislative session. That amounts to a minimum of 50 votes in theWashington House of Representatives and 25 votes in theWashington State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Statutes require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.

See also

• List of Washington ballot measures
• Laws governing ballot measures in Washington
• Laws governing the initiative process in Washington