Issaquah Bag Ban Petition Signatures Falling Short, Say Officials

Despite submitting more signatures than needed, organizers trying to repeal a ban on plastic bags in Issaquah are coming up short on the required number of signatures needed to put the issue on the voter's ballot next year.

Save Our Choice, a volunteer organization working throughout the Seattle metropolitan area in opposition to bans on plastic bags, submitted approximately 3,400 signatures to the Issaquah City Clerk in August, far more than the 2,549 needed to place a citizen referendum on the six-month-old ordinance Aug. 30.

But King County Elections Community Specialist Barbara Ramey said Monday that a large number of the signatures — which were turned over to King County Elections for verification — were invalidated in a preliminary review, dropping the overall number of signatures below the required amount.

"We have not finalized that review yet, but we have gotten a preliminary review, and we anticipate having a final review this week," she said. "It currently it looks like it does not meet the required number of signatures, but again, we are doing a second review to make sure that we have all the numbers added up."

Ramey declined to provide actual numbers but did confirm the ballots were rejected for a variety of reasons, including the fact that many signatures were from voters from outside of Issaquah — a requirement for a local referendum. Other reasons for invalidated signatures included names written that didn't match registered voters and illegible signatures. Should invalidated signatures drop the total below the stipulated threshold, Save Our Choice will have 10 days to submit additional petitions.