Another year without direct democracy

Plus some recommended reading

The space on the November ballot for statewide initiatives figures to be empty this year. 

Although more than 20 initiatives have been filed, that’s the easy part. Getting a measure on the November ballot is a heavy lift because it requires persuading 308,911 registered voters to sign a petition by early July, which typically involves spending a seven-figure number on paid signature gatherers. 

As of the latest filings with the Public Disclosure Commission, just one committee had anywhere close to that kind of cash in hand. That would be the Washington Coalition for Responsible Taxes and Spending, the Microsoft-led effort we wrote about in April. That committee had more than $1 million in hand as of the end of May 1, along with $1M in pledges, after spending more than $700,000 on polling and retainers for prominent hired guns in the direct democracy game.