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Washington Two-Year Terms for City Councilmembers Initiative (2024)
| Washington Two-Year Terms for City Councilmembers Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 5, 2024 | |
| Topic County and municipal governance | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type State statute | Origin Citizens |
The Washington Two-Year Terms for City Councilmembers Initiative was not on the ballot in Washington as an Initiative to the People, a type of initiated state statute, on November 5, 2024.
This initiative would have reduced the term limits for city councilmembers from four to two years.[1]
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for the measure was as follows:
| “ | Initiative Measure No. 2020 concerns municipal elections.
This measure would reduce terms of office from four years to two years for municipal councilmembers and certain other officials and eliminate staggered terms for councilmembers in various types of municipal governments. Should this measure be enacted into law? Yes [ ] No [ ][2] |
” |
Ballot summary
The ballot summary for the measure was as follows:
| “ | This measure would alter terms of office for certain municipal officials. It would eliminate staggered terms for councilmembers and other officials in various types of cities and other municipalities. It would reduce the term of office from four years to two years for certain municipal officials, including councilmembers in towns, council-manager cities, and first class mayor-council cities with seven councilmembers, and councilmembers and the mayor, treasurer, and comptroller in first-class mayor-council cities with twelve councilmembers.[2] | ” |
Full text
The full text of the initiative is available here.
Path to the ballot
The state process
In Washington, the number of signatures required to qualify a directly initiated state statute—called an Initiative to the People in Washington—for the ballot is equal to 8 percent of the votes cast for the office of governor at the last regular gubernatorial election. Initial filings for direct initiatives cannot be made more than 10 months before the general election at which their proposal would be presented to voters. Signatures must be submitted at least four months prior to the general election.
The requirements to get an Initiative to the People certified for the 2024 ballot:
- Signatures: 324,516 valid signatures
- Deadline: July 5, 2024
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
- Clifford Greene filed the initiative on January 5, and ballot language was issued for the initiative on January 22, 2024.[1]
- Sponsors did not submit signatures for the initiative by the deadline.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Washington Secretary of State, "2024 Proposed Initiatives to the People," accessed January 24, 2024
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
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State of Washington Olympia (capital) |
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