Cascade Party

Washington has always prided itself on being a state where ordinary people can write the laws they live under. The initiative and referendum process isn’t new here; it’s been part of our constitution for over a century. Citizens collect signatures, turn them in, and let voters decide. That’s the deal. It’s how we balance representative government with direct democracy.

But lately, that simple act, standing at a folding table with a clipboard, has become risky. Across the state, there’s been a growing wave of harassment and vandalism aimed at signature gatherers. Petition sheets have been scribbled over, stolen, ripped apart, or tossed into the air. Tables have been overturned. People have been screamed at, called names, and threatened. In a few cases, cars have been used to intimidate or even strike people as they tried to leave.

It doesn’t seem to matter what issue the petition is about. Some gatherers are collecting signatures for measures you might agree with, others for ones you might oppose. That’s supposed to be the point: everyone gets a chance to take their case to the people. When anyone feels unsafe doing that, the whole system starts to break down.

Washington law is actually clear on this. The state’s election code, RCW 29A.84.250, says it is a gross misdemeanor to "interfere with or attempt to interfere with the right of any voter to sign or not sign an initiative or referendum petition by threats, intimidation, or any corrupt means." The intent is straightforward: the right to petition your government is part of free speech, and that freedom only works when people can exercise it without fear.

Unfortunately, enforcement hasn’t caught up with the problem. Police often treat these incidents as minor disturbances or simple property damage. But to the people who set up those tables every weekend, rain or shine, in parking lots and on sidewalks, this isn’t minor. It’s personal. They’re trying to do what the system invites them to do: participate.

The Cascade Party rejects political violence, no matter who it’s aimed at or what the cause may be. We don’t have to agree on every initiative to defend the right of our neighbors to collect signatures. That right belongs to all of us. You can oppose a measure, argue against it, write letters, hold signs, even organize counter-campaigns, but you don’t get to shove, tear up, or destroy someone else’s work. That’s not free speech; that’s suppression.

This kind of behavior doesn’t just silence petitioners. It sends a message that civic participation is dangerous, that politics is a contact sport where intimidation wins. If that’s what we allow it to become, fewer people will bother to engage at all, and the only voices left will be the loudest and most aggressive.

The Cascade Party believes in something better. We support a state where people can live their best life and take part in shaping the rules that govern them. That means letting every petition circulate, letting every signature count, and letting the voters, all of them, be the final judges.

It takes courage to stand in a parking lot and ask strangers for their signature. Whether you agree with the issue or not, that person is practicing democracy in its rawest form. If we truly value civic engagement, we should protect that space, not trample it.

Let’s keep our debates at the ballot box, where they belong.