Attempt to block Washington’s energy choice initiative dismissed

August 10, 2024

The Washington State Supreme Court has rejected attempts by gas ban supporters to invalidate Washington’s Energy Choice Initiative.

In Washington Conservation Action Education Fund v. Secretary of State Steve Hobbs, opponents of Energy Choice Initiative 2066 attempted to invalidate the Secretary of State’s certification of I-2066. The group sought to require the Secretary of State to not only verify petition signatures but also require address verification.

The court unanimously rejected their demands and dismissed the case.

Washington’s Energy Choice Initiative will remain on November ballot

“These frivolous attempts to keep the voters from having a voice when it comes to energy choice are undemocratic and nothing short of voter suppression,” said Greg Lane, Executive Vice President of the Building Industry Association of Washington. “In essence, they are conceding through these desperate tactics that they know Washingtonians want energy choice.

“BIAW thanks Secretary of State Steve Hobbs and the Elections staff for their professionalism and work protecting the will of the voters to ensure I-2066 will be on the ballot,” he said. “We’re pleased the over half a million people who signed our petition and the hundreds of thousands of natural gas customers in Washington will have the opportunity to vote to save natural gas in November.”

Opponents attempted to block Initiative 2066 earlier in the process by mounting a challenge to the initiative’s ballot title. The move delayed signature-gathering efforts by several weeks.

Despite this, supporters submitted more than 546,000 signatures on July 5. The Secretary of State certified the initiative on July 24.

By state law, supporters needed 324,516 valid signatures from registered Washington voters to qualify for the November ballot.