Guest column
The News Tribune
Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2008

Put citizen safety first when strangers gather signatures

Initiatives: Security and democracy must be mutually inclusive in the system

By state Rep. Sam Hunt

The News Tribune recently weighed in with a defense of Washington’s initiative process (“Lawmakers: Don’t touch the right of initiative,” Feb. 4, 2008). A measure that I’m prime-sponsoring, House Bill 2601, came under specific fire. It seems that in your editorial eyes the proposal is nothing less than a full-frontal assault on the very future of the process. In fact, to say that you’ve missed the boat is to say that Newcastle is fixed fairly well for coal.

Drafted and redrafted nearly a dozen times, the bill cleared our legislative committee today (Feb. 5). As a citizen who has spent decades gathering signatures for various initiatives, I assure you that the last idea I’d back is any affront to this hallmark of our citizen-democracy. Quite the contrary. The legislation is both a renewed emphasis for citizen safety and a renewed respect for system integrity. Security and democracy in the initiative process can be – and must be – mutually inclusive.

After all, who’s really at potential risk when you’re hit up outside your local grocery store for an initiative-petition signature? Who really has his or her peace of mind on the line here?

It’s no attack on the system to prohibit people who’ve been convicted of sex crimes, identity theft, fraud, and forgery from being paid signature-gatherers. These folks have no business standing out in front of a super market or some other “public” facility gathering – in writing – the names and addresses of the John Q. Publics and Jane Q. Does of our state. When it comes to giving strangers your name and additional personal information, your safety and security is what this legislation is all about. It’s all about accountability. It’s all about peace of mind for Washington citizens.

Terms of this proposal speak to the integrity of initiative companies and supporters – and to the background of their employees. Campaigns using paid signature-collectors are the focus. We want initiative backers and companies, and their hired hands, to register with the Public Disclosure Commission. We’re also directing that the secretary of state’s office provide training in the new law for initiative companies and their employees. Signature-gatherers would need to provide a signed document stating that they haven’t been convicted of fraud, forgery, or identification theft, and that they aren’t a convicted sex offender. If you’ve been convicted of any of these crimes, you’re out of luck. If you’re a convicted sex offender, forget about it. Initiative companies that snub registration rules for paid signature-gatherers could face a $10,000 fine.

Many signature-collectors no doubt ply their trade from state to state. And yes, a good majority of them I’m sure are doing so honestly. But those who submit false information could find themselves slapped with criminal and civil penalties. Importantly, the paid signature-gatherers wouldn’t need to sign and swear to the information they’re providing until after the signatures have been collected. Our intent isn’t to allow these men and women to be harassed by fellow citizens who don’t agree with the political viewpoints of the initiative-supporters.

Frankly, the objective of the measure can’t be any more straightforward. A citizen should be able to have faith in the integrity of these strangers who are asking for the citizen’s very identity. Do we really need to wait for a paid signature-gatherer to commit some heinous crime before we take this step? As it is today, do we wait for sex offenders to reoffend before we say they can’t live next to schools and day-care centers? Properly registered folks are not going to have any problem. Already, citizens engaged in a good many other very noble professions must register.

The News Tribune frequently runs items providing sex-offender notification. It would seem that someone at the paper puts at least a little stock in keeping the general public abreast of these specific public threats. Asking for a background check hardly represents the downfall of democracy. We simply want to stop society’s hardest hearts from starting society’s easiest address book.

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Editor’s note: State Rep. Sam Hunt, D-Olympia, chairs the House State Government & Tribal Affairs Committee that recently approved the legislation. He is one of the legislators who serve the 22nd Legislative District in Thurston County. Take a look at information on this measure and other bills at http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/ .