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Washington Vehicular Pursuits of Peace Officers Initiative (2023)
| Washington Peace Officer Vehicular Pursuit Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 7, 2023 | |
| Topic Law enforcement | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type State statute | Origin Citizens |
The Washington Peace Officer Vehicular Pursuit Initiative was not on the ballot in Washington as an Initiative to the Legislature, a type of indirect initiated state statute, on November 7, 2023.
This initiative was designed to remove certain requirements for when a peace officer may engage in a vehicular pursuit.[1]
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for the initiative is below:[1]
| “ | Initiative Measure No. 1501 concerns vehicular pursuits by peace officers.
This measure would remove certain restrictions on vehicular pursuits, allowing them upon certain conditions including reasonable suspicion of unlawful activity and necessity of identifying or apprehending people who pose a threat to others. Should this measure be enacted into law? Yes [ ] No [ ] [2] |
” |
Ballot summary
The ballot summary for the initiative is below:[1]
| “ | This measure would remove certain restrictions on when peace officers may engage in vehicular pursuits. Such pursuits would be allowed when there is reasonable suspicion a person has violated the law, pursuit is necessary to identify or apprehend the person, the person poses a threat to the safety of others, the safety risks of failing to apprehend or identify the person are greater than those of the pursuit, and pursuit is authorized by a supervisor. | ” |
Full text
The full text is available here.
Path to the ballot
The state process
In Washington, the number of signatures required to qualify an indirectly initiated state statute—called an Initiative to the Legislature 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 indirect initiatives cannot be made more than 10 months before the regular session at which their proposal would be presented to lawmakers. Signatures must be submitted at least 10 days prior to the beginning of the legislative session in the year of the targeted election.
The requirements to get an Initiative to the Legislature certified for the 2023 ballot:
- Signatures: 324,516 valid signatures
- Deadline: December 30, 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 to appear before the legislature. If the legislature does not approve the measure, it is certified to appear on 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
- Joel Ard filed the initiative. Ard confirmed to Ballotpedia on July 20, 2022, that he would not be collecting signatures for the initiatives he filed.[3]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Washington Secretary of State, "Proposed Initiatives to the 2023 Legislature," accessed July 11, 2022
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Ballotpedia Staff, email communication with Joel Ard, July 20, 2022
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State of Washington Olympia (capital) |
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