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MARCH 2018
Power of the People Reaffirmed!
 
 
By Kathy Sakahara, LWVWA Issue Chair for Elections, Voting Rights & Campaign Finance

Last night we witnessed a powerful example of the power of people speaking out and demanding better from their elected officials.  Late Thursday night Governor Inslee responded to massive public outcry against the new public records bill (SB 6617) that was slammed through the legislature a week ago by vetoing it

Because it had passed by such overwhelming margins most observers considered a veto unlikely. And if it did occur it would be nothing more than a symbolic gesture with no impact. 

But people kept up the pressure on their legislators and on the Governor. 

And the Governor heard you. Your legislators heard you. 

They would have had a hard time not hearing you! 

According to the Seattle Times, “Between then and late Thursday afternoon, about 19,000 phone calls, emails and letters had poured into the governor’s office — almost all of them urging Governor Inslee to oppose the bill.”



The impact was so big that many legislators actually encouraged the Governor to veto their bill, with the promise not to override it, saying they had changed their minds and that they wanted the chance to do it over and do it right, with full transparency and the opportunity for public input. 

One of the caucuses wrote “We made a mistake by failing to go through a full public hearing process on this very important legislation.  The hurried process has overshadowed the positive reforms in the bill.  We think that the only way to make this right is for you to veto the bill and for us to start again.

Legislators responded to constituent concerns with emails that began with “I got it wrong on transparency” (Rep. Nicole Macri), or “I want to start off by saying I’m sorry. “(Rep. Javier Valdez.) 

We applaud those legislators for listening to their constituents and admitting they made a mistake. 

The power of citizen action truly is something to behold. Your work led to new avenues of cooperation and negotiation, and the reversal of an outcome that seemed all but certain just 24 hours ago. 

While legislators committed to letting the governor’s veto stand, the original plaintiffs in the court case (see inset) that was the impetus behind this bill agreed to join the legislature in asking for a stay on the original ruling. 

Bottom line, groups came together, agreed to slow down and take time to work out a reasonable solution! That solution is not to change anything immediately but to agree to work together, along with open government advocates (that means us!) to craft a carefully thought out, balanced and nuanced approach that allows for public access to critical information. All of this will be done with input from the public and under the watchful eye of the citizenry.
The Story Behind The Story

The origins of the conflict over Public Records are a Thurston County court ruling that while the legislature itself is not subject to the Public Records Act (PRA), individual legislators are to be considered state agencies covered by the PRA. The legislature has long contended that PRA was generally meant for larger agencies, not two-person State Senator offices. 

Why the Pubic Outrage?

Much of the  criticism over the bill was about the process. And rightly so.
SB 6617 was officially introduced on February 22. Simultaneous to its introduction the rules were suspended, and it was placed on Second Reading, meaning the bill could be voted on at any time. There was no referral to committee; no real opportunity for public input. Leadership announced that no amendments would be considered.

Whatever the bill did for governmental transparency or the lack thereof, the hurried and secretive manner by which it was adopted was an absolute assault on the democratic process, citizen engagement, and the opportunity for input from stakeholders that we expect from the legislature.

This exceptional process would be of concern on any bill. When it happens on a bill that deals with transparency of the legislature it is especially troubling and sends a disturbing message.

LWVWA was among the first to call for the legislature to slow down and demanded public input and the opportunity for amendment before the bill could be passed.  We let them know that we recognize that there were many good things about the bill but warned that “those reasons will forever be overshadowed by the fact that this was crafted behind closed doors without any benefit of sunshine.”  The public response certainly bore that out.


So What's Next?  

LWVWA was among the first to call for the legislature to slow down and demanded public input and the opportunity for amendment before the bill could be passed.  And we will be among the first at the table with other stakeholders and lawmakers to come up with a transparent process that allows for public input.

But public policy is a marathon, not a sprint. We won this lap and should be proud. But we can’t slow down! Even before last night’s positive developments we were working on setting up meetings with legislators to develop good Open Government public policy for the 2019 legislative session. We will move forward with these efforts even more energized thanks to this recent victory.

We invite you to join us and the rest of the LWVWA Open Government team for the rest of this marathon of important work. 
Celebrating Success!
 
As the legislative session continues to race along towards a March 8th finish, we continue to rack up true victories for Democracy and citizen participation here in Washington State. 
 
  • Voting Rights Act: This bill promotes stronger local elections by giving every voter a fair chance to elect leaders of their choice. It authorizes district-based elections where at large systems and racially polarized voting have excluded communities of color from a fair chance at representation. This is very similar to the WA Voting Rights Act that LWVWA has supported for the last five years. Sixth year is the charm!  
     
  • Automatic Voter Registration: Expands the number of registered voters by having state agencies register those who have proven citizenship.
     
  • Same Day Voter Registration: Have you ever had to tell someone it's too late to register to voter? It's not a good feeling. Every election season we have had voters reach out to us in the week before the election to register and we have had to explain that they cannot. NO MORE. Soon we will have same-day voter registration for all eligible voters. 
     
  • DISCLOSE Act:  The Campaign Finance DISCLOSE Act requires disclosure of contributions and expenditures by nonprofit organizations that participate significantly in Washington state elections with contributions of $25,000 or more in an election cycle. Such non-profits can avoid reporting their donors by running all political activity through a PAC. 
     
  • Youth Preregistration: "Unfortunately one of the groups with the lowest traditional voting turnout has been young people," said LWVWA Board President Ann Murphy. "We need to encourage our youth, not make it difficult for them to vote, as soon as they turn 18. LWVWA thanks our legislature for joining other states in providing a convenient path for young people to enter the family of voters." HB 1513 allow 16 and 17 year old citizens to preregister to vote and includes a provision that expand the annual observance of "Temperance and Good Citizenship Day" to include a voter registration event for "future voters." 
     
  • Post-Election Audits: With nearly unanimous bipartisan support, the house and senate have passed a bill to strengthen our states' post-election audits. Post-election audits ensure the accuracy and security of our election results.

So job well done and we can all go home and prop our feet up on the coffee table with the beverage of our choice in our hands, right? Not exactly. 

While we DO encourage self-care (so by all means heat up the tea kettle or pop open the champagne!) some of these bills are not on the Governor's desk yet. The Voting Rights Act, Automatic Voter Registration and the DISCLOSE Act passed the opposite house with amendments and so must go back to their house of origin for concurrence. They have until the end of next week to pass concurrences. 

We also have other bills to pass before the end of this session on March 8th. And of course we are always gearing up to bring you information and action alerts about the next legislative session. Stay up to date by visiting our Advocacy Issues Page.
The State We're In: Your Guide to State, Tribal and Local Government
 

We are happy to announce that the brand new 8th edition of League’s civics textbook has been sent to the printer and books will be available in mid-March!

Chapter Two, The Design of Today’s Democracy, has been expand to include descriptions of political parties, gerrymandering, redistricting and more. Civics and the Natural World is an entirely new chapter that explores how various levels of government effect our wildlife, natural resources, and reserved lands.

The book is now in full color and contains many new sidebars and pictures.

The State We're In is the League's highly acclaimed civics textbook. It is a friendly, easy-to-read primer that covers the basics of what government is, how it works, and why we should care about it. It is generously illustrated with graphs, photos and drawings. Written for grades 7- 12, it is also a useful tool for ELL, GED and Basic Education programs.

Our grateful thanks go to: Jill Severn, author, Leslie Hoge, graphic designer and a host of others who provided information, pictures and other support. These volunteers donated many hours to this important project and include, but are not limited to, our editor Lea Galanter (LWV Seattle King County) and proofreaders Katherine Murphy (LWV Clark County), Michelle Valentine (LWV Snohomish County), and Ruth Harms (LWV Thurston County). 

To be notified when the book is ready to be ordered and shipped, simply fill out this form. 
Help Us Celebrate Women's History Month
 
March is Women's History Month and it's time to celebrate! The National Women's History Project and the Library of Congress have some great information on their websites but we know League supporters are also a font of information. 

So do you know of any great opportunities for people to celebrate? If you have an event or even a book, movie, podcast, or television show to recommend, let us know.

Of course you can celebrate all year long but we'd like to post some suggestions on our Facebook page throughout March.
 


We'll start with a recommendation from Historian and League member Sue Lean, who turned us on to this BBC radio documentary, The Lost World of the Suffragettes. 

March 2018

Friday, March 16 – LWVWA and Education Fund Board meetings, Seattle, 9 am-4 pm

May 2018

Friday, May 18  – LWVWA and Education Fund Board meetings, Seattle, 9 am-4 pm

June 2018

Friday-Sunday, June 1-3, LWVWA Council, Richland WA (hosted by Benton Franklin League)

Thursday-Sunday, June 28-July 1, LWVUS Convention, Chicago IL

 
League of Women Voters of Washington 
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