No on 1033, yes on 71

The school year has started and Evergreen students have returned to Olympia. It’s easy to get caught up in your classes, seeing old friends and settling into new homes, but we can’t forget that we belong to a greater community. This November, Olympia city council elections and state wide ballots are coming out. The Olympia city council affects Evergreen students and the greater community Evergreen is a part of which makes it important to research candidates and vote. There are a number of initiatives on this year’s ballot to watch out for.

Initiatives on the ballot

I-1033

CxPJ Vote: NO!

Initiatives like I-1033 have been put on ballots across the country and in some states have passed. This initiative would freeze state budgets at their current level, along with the budget cuts we saw last year and tuition hikes. Enacting this bill would keep the state struggling with the same small budget it had this year when so many people experienced a tremendous loss of jobs, income, and social services.

The potential outcome is evident in other states, such as Colorado, that passed a similar initiative that harmed public schools greatly. The tuition hikes and lost services at Evergreen approved by the Board of Trustees at the end of last school year would stay in effect. This means a continual tuition hike of 14% every year with no talk of bringing back any of the services cut from campus. The passing of this initiative would not only harm our school and limit who is able to attend Evergreen in the future, but cuts deeply into the well being of citizens across the state. Small bills like this can make a huge impact. The budget of the state directly affects every student at Evergreen we must stand up to initiatives that harm our community.

Referendum 71

CxPJ Vote: YES!

This is an important law working on domestic partnership rights for gay couples. Initially a LGBT rights bill on its way to the legislature, the conservative group Protect Marriage Washington petitioned and got the initiative to be put up for a statewide referendum vote. The measure legalizes domestic partnerships and accords them with all the rights of marriage but retains the title “domestic partnership” instead of “marriage” even though the referendum, if passed, accords both the same institutional make-up.

A yes vote on this measure is a vote towards equality and an affirmation of basic human dignity and rights for the over 12,000 registered domestic partnerships in Washington state. Polls showed the general public voting yes, but only by a narrow margin. Since Washington State courts have already voted against the measure and the state legislature has been blocked from passing the bill, a state-wide referendum is the last way to pass this extremely important measure. Even if you do so for no other reason, register and vote for of this measure.

The last day to register in person to vote in the November elections is October 26th. You can register at your local Department of Licensing. Ballots are mailed out and the last day to vote in the general election is November 3rd. More information can be found under Elections and Voter Information on Thurston County’s website.