REDMOND, WA – Today, the Washington Secretary of State (SOS) notified Let’s Go Washington (LGW) that the initiative to repeal the income tax has been certified for November’s ballot. With a validity rate of 82.3%, IP-645 had more than enough valid signatures to get the measure in front of voters, much to the chagrin of Governor Ferguson and Senator Pedersen.
As part of the verification process, the Secretary of State conducts a statistically reliable review of submitted signatures to confirm that the initiative has met the legal threshold for certification. The validity and efficacy of the process has been touted by Washington State officials, elected officials, and the Secretary of State himself. LGW supporters observed the process as it was conducted.
Ferguson and speakers at yesterday’s tax supporter rally spoke at length about the programs that would be devastated by the income tax repeal. Had Ferguson or any of the speakers read the text of I-645, they would know that the sales tax reductions, business exemptions, and benefits for family programs will remain uncut.
In conjunction with today’s certification, a new Cygnal poll was released that shows Washingtonians are poised to repeal the income tax. The results found that 57% of Washingtonians are opposed to an income tax because they believe that it will eventually apply to them. The results also found that Bob Ferguson is polling unfavorably with 49.5% of voters.
“We’re grateful for the dedication of the Secretary of State’s office to ensure that the hundreds of thousands of signatures gathered are validly counted. Today’s verification proves that Washingtonians will have their voice heard this November, no matter how hard Jamie Pedersen and Bob Ferguson worked to keep them out of the process,” said Brian Heywood, founder of Let’s Go Washington. “We are proud to lead the fight to protect families and small businesses from Olympia expanding their state income tax on all Washingtonians. We’ll continue setting the record straight, exposing the misinformation, and making sure voters understand that voting yes on I-645 will protect benefits for families, protect their wallet, and hold lawmakers in Olympia accountable for their reckless spending.”
LGW will be hosting campaign activities throughout the summer to ensure that all voters know what’s at stake this November.