The Will of the Voters and Olympia: A Tale of Two Initiatives

By Kimberly Christensen

THE PHRASE, ‘The Will of the Voters,’ has been bandied about a lot lately. Legislators use it as a defense for certain votes. Political pundits can’t talk for more than a minute without using the phrase. But what does it really mean?

Remember I-695, which would have lowered car tabs to $30 and required all tax increases be approved by voters? In 1999, it passed with approximately 56 percent of the vote. The State Supreme Court, however, overturned I-695 because it dealt with more than one topic (which is unconstitutional for initiatives in Washington State). Despite this, the state legislature rushed to pass the $30 car tabs, since I-695 was The Will of the Voters.

In 2000, I-713, which bans some types of wildlife traps and poisons, passed with almost 55 percent of the vote. Since voter turnout was higher in 2000 than in 1999, more people voted for I-713 than for I-695. In addition, I-713 passed in 34 out of the state’s 49 legislative districts. From the raw numbers, we could assert that I-713 represented The Will of the Voters. But what happens when The Will of the Voters must stand up to pressure from special interest groups? Will our legislators defend The Will of the Voters?

Not if you live in King County. Curiously, in a county where 62 percent of the voters supported I-713, the legislators purportedly representing those voters spearheaded the charge to overturn I-713. Senator Ken Jacobson, whose District 46 constituents (parts of the U District, Northgate, Greenwood and surrounding areas) voted for I-713 with a 71 percent majority, was actually a leader in the movement to overturn it.

Senator Jacobson was not alone. Other King County Representatives similarly ignored the will of their constituents and sought to repeal I-713. These wayward legislators include :

• Bill Finkbeiner of District 45, where I-713 passed with a 59 percent majority vote

• Jim Horn of District 41, where I-713 passed with a 59 percent majority vote

• Stephen Johnson of District 47, where I-713 passed with a 54 percent majority vote

• Rosemary McAuliffe of District 1, where I-713 passed with a 59 percent majority vote

• Dino Rossi of District 5, where I-713 passed with a 56 percent majority vote

Many legislators seemed to be listening to the special interest opponents of I-713, which claimed that it is unreasonable and inflexible, not allowing for necessary wildlife management. In reality, the initiative has explicit allowances for the use of the banned traps to protect humans, livestock or property. Over 700 such exemptions have been granted in the two years since I-713 was enacted, indicating that it is possible to file for and be granted a waiver when necessary.

Opponents of I-713 made a number of curious arguments in order to try to convince the state legislature to repeal I-713. For instance, they claimed that the State of Washington doesn’t have jurisdiction over Federal Government activities, so these traps and poisons could still be used by the Federal Government on Federal land within Washington state. While this is true, it seems irrelevant—state law is always secondary to federal law. They also suggested that I-713 should be rescinded because it makes many common mole traps illegal. While clearly nothing can be done about the Federal Government, the law could easily be fixed to explicitly exempt mole trapping. Yet, rather than make this small, reasonable fix, the legislature, at the urging of the special interest groups, sought to overturn the initiative, even though it had been passed by The Will of the Voters.

Opponents of I-713 also claimed that I-713 suffers from the same Constitutional flaw as I-695, in that it deals with more than one topic. That is an appropriate question to ask, and for the courts—not the legislature—to answer.

Clearly, the voters need to remind our legislators what The Will of the Voters really means. Perhaps they will get the reminder that they need when the voters exercise their wills at the polls in the upcoming elections, and elect legislators that might actually listen to The Will of the Voters.

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