RCW 35A.01.040
Sufficiency of petitions.Wherever in this
title petitions are required to be signed and filed, the
following rules shall govern the sufficiency thereof:
(1) A petition may include any page or group of pages
containing an identical text or prayer intended by the
circulators, signers or sponsors to be presented and considered
as one petition and containing the following essential elements
when applicable, except that the elements referred to in (d) and
(e) of this subsection are essential for petitions referring or
initiating legislative matters to the voters, but are directory
as to other petitions:
(a) The text or prayer of the petition which shall be a
concise statement of the action or relief sought by petitioners
and shall include a reference to the applicable state statute or
city ordinance, if any;
(b) If the petition initiates or refers an ordinance, a true
copy thereof;
(c) If the petition seeks the annexation, incorporation,
withdrawal, or reduction of an area for any purpose, an accurate
legal description of the area proposed for such action and if
practical, a map of the area;
(d) Numbered lines for signatures with space provided beside
each signature for the name and address of the signer and the
date of signing;
(e) The warning statement prescribed in subsection (2) of
this section.
(2) Petitions shall be printed or typed on single sheets of
white paper of good quality and each sheet of petition paper
having a space thereon for signatures shall contain the text or
prayer of the petition and the following warning:
WARNING
Every person who signs this petition with any other
than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more
than one of these petitions, or signs a petition
seeking an election when he or she is not a legal
voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise
not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false
statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
Each signature shall be executed in ink or indelible pencil
and shall be followed by the name and address of the signer and
the date of signing.
(3) The term "signer" means any person who signs his or her
own name to the petition.
(4) To be sufficient a petition must contain valid
signatures of qualified registered voters or property owners, as
the case may be, in the number required by the applicable statute
or ordinance. Within three working days after the filing of a
petition, the officer with whom the petition is filed shall
transmit the petition to the county auditor for petitions signed
by registered voters, or to the county assessor for petitions
signed by property owners for determination of sufficiency. The
officer or officers whose duty it is to determine the sufficiency
of the petition shall proceed to make such a determination with
reasonable promptness and shall file with the officer receiving
the petition for filing a certificate stating the date upon which
such determination was begun, which date shall be referred to as
the terminal date. Additional pages of one or more signatures
may be added to the petition by filing the same with the
appropriate filing officer prior to such terminal date. Any
signer of a filed petition may withdraw his or her signature by a
written request for withdrawal filed with the receiving officer
prior to such terminal date. Such written request shall so
sufficiently describe the petition as to make identification of
the person and the petition certain. The name of any person
seeking to withdraw shall be signed exactly the same as contained
on the petition and, after the filing of such request for
withdrawal, prior to the terminal date, the signature of any
person seeking such withdrawal shall be deemed withdrawn.
(5) Petitions containing the required number of signatures
shall be accepted as prima facie valid until their invalidity has
been proved.
(6) A variation on petitions between the signatures on the
petition and that on the voter's permanent registration caused by
the substitution of initials instead of the first or middle
names, or both, shall not invalidate the signature on the
petition if the surname and handwriting are the same.
(7) Signatures, including the original, of any person who
has signed a petition two or more times shall be stricken.
(8) Signatures followed by a date of signing which is more
than six months prior to the date of filing of the petition shall
be stricken.
(9) When petitions are required to be signed by the owners
of property, the determination shall be made by the county
assessor. Where validation of signatures to the petition is
required, the following shall apply:
(a) The signature of a record owner, as determined by the
records of the county auditor, shall be sufficient without the
signature of his or her spouse;
(b) In the case of mortgaged property, the signature of the
mortgagor shall be sufficient, without the signature of his or
her spouse;
(c) In the case of property purchased on contract, the
signature of the contract purchaser, as shown by the records of
the county auditor, shall be deemed sufficient, without the
signature of his or her spouse;
(d) Any officer of a corporation owning land within the area
involved who is duly authorized to execute deeds or encumbrances
on behalf of the corporation, may sign on behalf of such
corporation, and shall attach to the petition a certified excerpt
from the bylaws of such corporation showing such authority;
(e) When property stands in the name of a deceased person or
any person for whom a guardian has been appointed, the signature
of the executor, administrator, or guardian, as the case may be,
shall be equivalent to the signature of the owner of the
property; and
(f) When a parcel of property is owned by multiple owners,
the signature of an owner designated by the multiple owners is
sufficient.
(10) The officer or officers responsible for determining the
sufficiency of the petition shall do so in writing and transmit
the written certificate to the officer with whom the petition was
originally filed.[2003 c 331 § 9; 1996 c 286 § 7; 1985 c 281 §
26; 1967 ex.s. c 119 § 35A.01.040.]
NOTES:
Intent -- Severability -- Effective date -- 2003 c 331: See notes
following RCW 35.13.410.
Severability -- 1985 c 281: See RCW 35.10.905.