‘Transgender bathroom’ initiative won’t make Washington ballot

OLYMPIA – Voters will not get a chance this fall to decide whether to keep or cancel a state rule allowing transgender people to use bathrooms and other public facilities based on gender identity, not just biology.

Sponsors of Initiative 1515, which would have overturned a rule approved late last year by the state Human Rights Commission, notified state elections officials late Thursday they will not turn in their petitions before Friday’s deadline. The political committee, registered as Just Want Privacy, had scheduled a Friday morning appointment to deliver signatures, but told the Secretary of State’s office it didn’t have enough signatures to meet the threshold.

The organization’s website said Thursday evening it had 181,278 signatures in, with less than a day to go before the deadline. An initiative petition requires 246,372 valid signatures from registered voters, and campaigns usually turn in 300,000 or more to account for duplicates and invalid signatures.