Washington Affirmative Action Ban for Businesses Initiative (2017)

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Washington
Affirmative Action Ban for Businesses Initiative
Flag of Washington.png
Election date
November 7, 2017
Topic
Affirmative action
Status
Not on the ballot
Type
State statute
Origin
Citizens

The Washington Affirmative Action Ban for Businesses Initiative was not on the ballot in Washington as an Initiative to the People, a type of initiated state statute, on November 7, 2017.

The measure would have prohibited businesses from discriminating or granting preferential treatment based on race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin.[1]

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title was:[1]

Initiative Measure No. 1547 concerns discrimination and preferential treatment.

This measure would prohibit any business from discriminating against or granting preferential treatment to any individual or group based on race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in employment, education, or contracting.

Should this measure be enacted into law? Yes [ ] No [ ][2]

Ballot summary

The ballot summary was:[1]

This measure would prohibit any business from discriminating against or granting preferential treatment to any individual or group based on race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of employment, education, or contracting. This prohibition would be in addition to an existing prohibition against state or local government discriminating against or granting preferential treatment to any individual or group based on race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in employment, education, or contracting.[2]

Full text

The full text is available here.

Support

Tim Eyman, Leo J. Fagan, and M.J. Fagan sponsored the initiative's filing.[1]

Background

See also: Washington Initiative 200, Affirmative Action Initiative (1998)

In 1998, voters approved Initiative 200, which prohibited public institutions from discriminating or granting preferential treatment based on race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin. The measure was proposed by Tim Eyman and Scott Smith.

Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing the initiative process in Washington

In Washington, the signature requirement for Initiatives to the People is equivalent to 8 percent of the votes cast for the office of governor at the last gubernatorial election.

To make the 2017 ballot, proponents of Initiatives to the People were required to submit at least 259,622 valid signatures by July 7, 2017.[3] No signatures were turned in for the initiative by the deadline.[4]

Sponsors of the measure originally proposed it as an Initiative to the Legislature, but failed to submit a sufficient number of valid signatures by the deadline on December 30, 2016.[5]

See also

Footnotes

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Washington Secretary of State, "Proposed Initiatives to the People - 2017," accessed January 11, 2017
  2. 2.0 2.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  3. Washington Secretary of State, "Elections Calendar - 2016," accessed January 10, 2017
  4. Northwest Public Radio, “Election Rarity: No Initiatives Qualify For November Statewide Ballot In Washington,” July 7, 2017
  5. Ballotpedia staff, "E-mail with Washington secretary of state's office," January 3, 2016