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Key Findings

1. If approved, Referendum 88 would confirm the legislature’s passage of Initiative 1000 during the 2019 legislative session.  Initiative 1000 would allow public officials to use race, gender and ethnicity as a factor in giving out public benefits.
2. Initiative 1000 seeks to repeal the voter-passed 1998 Washington Civil Rights Act, which banned affirmative action and government race-based discrimination.
3. Discrimination would be allowed at all levels of government; state, county, city, public schools and public universities.
4. Initiative 1000 would change the technical definition of “preferential treatment” so that affirmative action would be allowed.
5. Referendum 88 opponents say government officials should not favor or dis-favor people based on appearance or skin color.
6. A vote to “Approve” Referendum 88 means the 1998 Civil Rights Act would be repealed and government would be able to use race-based affirmative action.
7. A vote to “Reject” Referendum 88 means the 1998 Civil Rights Act would stay in place and race-based affirmative action would continue to be banned in Washington state.

Introduction

Referendum 88 is a proposed measure on the November ballot that asks voters whether they want to approve or reject a new law passed by the legislature that would allow public officials to use race-based affirmative action in making decisions that affect citizens.

The group Let People Vote collected 213,268 signatures to place the measure on the ballot.

Background

Race-based affirmative action by public officials has been banned in Washington state since voters passed the Washington Civil Rights Act in 1998.  In April 2019 the legislature passed a bill, Initiative 1000, to bring race-based affirmative action back as government policy.  

Many voters may be unsure of what “Approve” and “Reject” mean as these terms appear on the ballot.  Here is a brief explanation.

A vote to “Approve” Referendum 88 would confirm passage of Initiative 1000, which would repeal the voter-passed 1998 Washington Civil Rights Act and would allow state and local officials to engage in discrimination based on race, ethnicity or gender in public schools and universities, public hiring and government contract work.

A “Reject” vote on Referendum 88 would stop Initiative 1000, and would maintain current civil rights law to prevent government officials from engaging in discrimination based on race, ethnicity or gender.  A “Reject” vote means public officials would be barred from engaging in implicit or explicit racial bias and would be guided by an inclusive policy of equal treatment for all.