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Washington Referendum 97, Large Capacity Magazines Measure (2022)
| Washington Referendum 97 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 8, 2022 | |
| Topic Firearms | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Referendum | Origin Citizens |
Washington Referendum Measure 97, concerning Large Capacity Magazines, was not on the ballot in Washington as a veto referendum on November 8, 2022.
Referendum 97 would have put Senate Bill 5078, passed by the Washington State Legislature during its 2022 session, on the statewide ballot in 2022 for voters to approve or reject. Senate Bill 5078 was designed to define large-capacity magazines as "certain ammunition-feeding devices that can accept more than 10 rounds of ammunition" and ban the sale and distribution of them in Washington.[1]
Text of measure
The full text of the referendum is available here.
Background
Veto referendums in Washington
Since the first in 1914, Washington voters have decided 39 statewide veto referendum measures at the ballot.
A veto referendum is a type of citizen-initiated ballot measure that asks voters whether to uphold or repeal a law passed by the state legislature. Opponents of the law collect signatures for the veto referendum petition hoping that voters will repeal it at the ballot. The most recent veto referendum was on the ballot in Washington in 2020 In 79.5% of cases (31 of 39), the veto referendum resulted in the targeted bill being repealed. Conversely, 20.5% (eight of 39) of veto referendum measures resulted in the targeted law being upheld. In Washington, successful veto referendum petitions suspend the targeted law until the veto referendum is placed on the ballot and voted on in an election.
Path to the ballot
The state process
In Washington, the number of signatures required to qualify a veto referendum for the ballot is equal to 4 percent of the votes cast for the office of governor at the last regular gubernatorial election. Signatures must be submitted 90 days following the adjournment of the legislative session during which the targeted bill was passed.
The requirements to get a veto referendum certified for the 2022 ballot:
- Signatures: 162,258 valid signatures
- Deadline: 90 days after the legislature adjourned (June 8, 2022)
The secretary of state verifies the signatures using a random sample method. If the sample indicates that the measure has sufficient signatures, the measure is certified for the ballot. However, if the sample indicates that the measure has insufficient signatures, every signature is checked. Under Washington law, a random sample result may not invalidate a petition.
Details about this initiative
- Senate Bill 5078 was approved by the Washington State Legislature during the regular 2022 session, which ended on March 10, 2022.[1]
- The adjournment date of the regular legislative session set the signature deadline for any veto referendum petitions as June 8, 2022.
- This referendum was submitted by Karren Jennings on March 15, 2022.[1]
- Signatures were not submitted by the June 8 deadline.[1]
See also
External links
Footnotes
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State of Washington Olympia (capital) |
|---|---|
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