Most ‘against’ committees for ballot measures go unfilled. Why?

Last year, the Stevens County commissioners proposed two ballot measures to raise sales tax to pay for a new jail. The voter pamphlet included an argument in favor written by the sheriff and two other citizens.

No one wrote a statement against it, and the measures passed by nearly 70%.

This situation is common in Eastern Washington.

Out of 42 ballot measures in Spokane County elections so far this year, 33 had statements in support and seven had statements against.

By state law, when a local government puts a measure on the ballot, they are supposed to appoint two committees to write statements in the voter pamphlet arguing for and against the measure.

The jurisdiction could be anything from a city council to a school board or even a cemetery district. Most measures are for taxes, though some are to change an ordinance.

While both committees sometimes go unseated, most often it is the “against” committee left out.

Steven Thompson, a candidate for Stevens County commissioner, complained that the board didn’t do enough to seat an against committee because they wanted the proposition to pass.

Commissioner Wes McCart, who is defending his seat against Thompson, said the commissioners couldn’t find anyone interested.

“If we found someone who replied, we would have been more than happy to have them write the response,” McCart said. “We were in no way trying to influence the outcome as commissioners.”

(By the latest count, Thompson is losing the primary race to McCart and Montgomery Stobart.)

The language in the state statute is lenient, with qualifiers like “whenever possible.” If the local authority fails to make appointments by the deadline, the county auditor should “whenever possible” make the appointments.

Derrick Nunnally, spokesman for the Washington Secretary of State’s office, said the only recourse for a board failing to seat a committee is the county auditor.

Stevens County Auditor Lori Larsen, Spokane County Auditor Vicky Dalton and Chris Anderson, civil counsel to the Spokane County Commissioners, all said they are unaware of an enforcement mechanism if a board intentionally neglects to seat a committee, but that they all make their best effort to do so.

It is difficult for an auditor’s office to try to seat a committee, however, because they have a tight deadline. Usually, it is exactly a week after the local jurisdiction’s deadline.

These deadlines are strict because they need to have the pamphlets printed and distributed in time.

Auditors can search for volunteers through public notices online or in the newspaper of record. But in rural places like Stevens County with only weekly newspapers, that’s not enough time to publish a notice.

Larsen said she posts a general notice about once a year looking for volunteers. Residents can email her office to join a waitlist for future committees. The list is very short.

“If a committee is unseated, I want to know about it,” Thompson said. “I would encourage others to put their name on the list too. People need to know this list is out there.”

Committees can include elected officials or staff members, but they must keep their activities separate from their official duties.

Larsen called it “peculiar” that a jurisdiction pursuing a strategic goal like a ballot measure should also be responsible for finding a committee to argue against it. There’s nothing stopping them from seating someone who they know will do a bad job, she said.

“I think it is a flawed system,” Larsen said.

But Dalton, the Spokane County auditor, disagrees. She said local boards are in the best position to know the people who support or oppose an issue.

“As the county auditor, I don’t know who doesn’t want to pay a levy in the town of Spangle,” Dalton said. “But the council members definitely know.”

Whether it is a lack of interest or a lack of awareness about the opportunity, there seems to be a shortage of volunteers.

Historically, these pro/con committees were only required for counties that printed a voter pamphlet. Only a handful of the larger counties did. Although it was an early adopter of online voter guides, Spokane County was not one of them.

But since 2022, the Legislature has required all 39 counties in the state to print a pamphlet. So, the idea of these committees is relatively new, and many people may not be aware it is an option.

While it is challenging to find members for both sides, local election officials acknowledged that overall, it is definitely harder to find volunteers on against committees.

One reason could be that if a measure has been proposed, that means someone is already advocating for it, so it is easier to find volunteers on the pro committee.

Another deterrent is that committee member names are public.

Norm Caley, Lincoln County election manager, said that in small towns where everyone knows each other, most people don’t want to speak out against the school district or fire department.

“No one wants to be the bad guy,” Caley said.

It also takes extra work, and people are busy.

Jim Murphy, a retired superior court judge, led the committee against Spokane County’s Measure 1 last year for a criminal justice tax increase. Murphy had already co-authored a report commissioned by the county on progress toward reforming the county’s justice system. Measure 1 was contrary to the conclusions of his report, so it made sense for him to join the committee against it.

Someone has to be passionate about an issue to take the time to write a statement, Murphy said.

These statements can be influential, and people read them, Murphy said, to try to understand the issues.

“Voter pamphlets are important documents in democracy,” Murphy said.

Even larger districts like the city of Spokane struggle with finding people. Two propositions this February didn’t have any against statements. One person was appointed for the committee against the library levy, but a statement wasn’t received before the deadline.

Giacobbe Byrd, director of Spokane City Council’s office, said he makes announcements through social media posts, news releases and announcements at council meetings, but they get little response.

Most committees for propositions across Spokane County will go unfilled again this November. Although the deadline has already passed, Spokane County Elections Office keeps a list of interested individuals like Stevens County. The deadline is usually about three months before an election.

Committees can be up to three members who must be registered voters of the district proposing the measure. The committee works together to draft a statement 250 words or less. Each committee gets three days to write a 75-word rebuttal to the other statement.