OPPOSING RIGHT WING INITIATIVES AND FIGHTING TIM EYMAN
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King County Charter Amendment 8 is a hoax backed by wealthy special interests that seeks to take away your right as a voter to know more than just the name of the candidate that you are voting for.
Charter Amendment 8 reduces transparency in King County elections by preventing candidates from sharing their party affiliation with voters on county ballots.
Proponents of Charter Amendment 8 claim they’re interested in “good” government, but since when has “good” government meant less information for voters?
Vote NO on Charter Amendment 8 to:
- Protect your right to know more than just the name of who you’re voting for
- Ensure that candidates are accountable to the people, not special interests
- Keep a forum of diverse political philosophies and transparency in government
- Support and sustain grassroots politics
Any person who wants to run as an independent for an elected office in King County already has that right today. Nobody is forced to identify with a political party. So why should candidates who want to identify with a party be prevented from doing so? Under Initiative 26, candidates who wish to declare a party affiliation for a county office would be barred from doing so.
No such thing as a nonpartisan election
We all have views about how government should be run.
The great thing about political parties is that they allow like minded people to organize and back candidates from office who articulate diverse perspectives.
Political parties are the lifeblood of grassroots politics.
"I see no virtue in forcing candidates to run without a party label. Who are these people? What is their general political philosophy? Over 40 years, nationally, both major political parties have been displaced in influence by powerful single-issue and single-interest groups whose political money and influence count for more than party platforms or loyalty. Why hasten and deepen this trend?"
- Ted Van Dyk
When parties are weakened, special interests gain power. Newspaper owners are supporting Initiative 26 because they like the idea that voters will have less information at their fingertips when they vote. Big businesses and other special interests like Initiative 26 for the same reason. It’s a lot easier for a powerful lobby to buy an election when voters don’t know what the candidates stand for.
More information and research
- Democrats Are Still Democrats and Republicans Are Still Republicans: Partisan Attribution in Nonpartisan Elections (Beth Miller, University of Missouri-KS City)
- Local Races in California are NINO — Nonpartisan in Name Only (California Progress Report)
- Democrats Asleep at the Wheel Regarding Initiative 26 (MajorityRules Blog)
