Over 1,500 Issaquah Bag Ban Petitions Invalid, Say Officials

A citizen's initiative to repeal a plastic bag ban and paper bag surcharge from local retailers appears to have failed after nearly half of the petition signatures were declared invalid by King County Elections.

In a letter dated Tuesday, Sept. 17, Elections Director Sherill Huff certified that a petition organized by bag ban opponents Save Our Choice was signed by only 2,179 registered voters who lived in Issaquah.


"All 3,687 petition signatures submitted were compared against those voter registration signatures on file with our office," stated the certification letter. "Of those 2,179 were determined to be registered voters of King County in the City of Issaquah. Since that number did not meet the requirement of 2,549 valid signatures to certify, it is determined that the petition is insufficient."

The petitioners have 10 days from Sept. 17 to add more signatures and resubmit the petition for approval, according to the Initiative and Referendum Guide for Washington City and County charters. If the county finds it insufficient a second time, the petition is returned and organizers can appeal the determination of insufficiency to the King County Superior Court.