Yesterday in Olympia, it was announced that WA Let’s Go Washington (LGW) and hundreds of grassroots volunteers formally submitted more than enough petition signatures to qualify the Protect Girls' Sports and Protect Parental Rights ballot initiatives.
Both exceed the required threshold of 308,911 valid signatures per measure (with a buffer for potential invalids). The Washington Secretary of State will now verify the signatures. If certified (which is highly likely given the totals submitted), the measures go to the 2026 Legislature. Lawmakers can pass them, reject them (sending them to the November 2026 ballot), or propose alternatives (potentially placing both versions on the ballot).
Citizens Initiative IL26-638 to Protect Girls’ Sports garnered 445,187 signatures (about a 44% buffer), and IL26-001 to Protect Parental Rights received 416,201 signatures (about a 35% buffer).
This is a huge victory, as over the last few months, it was widely reported that there were multiple acts of intimidation, vandalism, threats, assault, and theft against petition signature gatherers. In fact a Port Orchard, WA man was arrested for threatening to shoot LGW signature gatherer in the neck.
Also, the FBI alerted LGW that individuals connected to Antifa were actively calling for violence and intimidation against volunteers collecting signatures for the two ballot initiatives. Brian Heywood, founder of LGW, said the threats are part of a broader pattern of political intimidation aimed at shutting down citizen-led activism.
Yesterday, however, it was announced that Initiative IL26-126, which would have required people in WA to provide proof of citizenship when they register to vote, did not receive enough signatures to qualify.
WAGOP State Chair and LD 39 State Representative Jim Walsh gave an update, saying, “We fell short of the signature number we needed by today’s deadline. We’ll re-file as an Initiative to the People as soon as the window opens early next week. That will give us about six months to gather signatures to qualify for the General Election ballot in November directly. No stop at the legislature first!”
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