A proposed ballot initiative organizers say is aimed at “restoring election confidence” has been rejected by the Clark County Prosecutor’s Office. Now the initiative’s author, Rob Anderson, is asking a judge to step in to move the initiative forward.
Anderson filed a petition for a writ of mandamus — a court order requiring a government official to fulfill their duties — in Skamania County Superior Court on Monday. In his petition, Anderson asked the court to ensure that Prosecuting Attorney Tony Golik would “adhere to the legal process outlined in the Clark County Home Rule Charter.”
In an press release Monday, Anderson claimed the prosecutor’s office had already overstepped its authority in rejecting the initiative.
“Without providing detailed clarification, the prosecuting attorney, by fiat, declared the proposed initiative prohibited from the ballot, sidestepping the explicit provisions of the Home Rule Charter,” Anderson said in the release.
The proposed initiative calls on the county to:
- Establish chain-of-custody records for every ballot.
- Require voter registration rolls be updated at least 30 days before ballots are mailed.
- Equip ballot drop boxes, as well as ballot collection, processing, counting and storage areas, with around-the-clock high-definition security cameras.
- Require a full forensic audit following each presidential election beginning in 2024.
A Dec. 21 letter to Anderson from Amanda Migchelbrink, senior deputy prosecuting attorney, detailed reasons why her office rejected the ballot initiative.
“An initiative that would amend state or federal statutes is not permitted by the charter. Although it’s not entirely clear what you are requesting, it appears you have requested an ordinance that would restrict or amend state laws regarding election security and voting systems,” the letter states.
Migchelbrink said bills and ballot measures can only address one subject, which must be included in the title.
“Your documents contain at least three different subjects that would require amendments to the county charter and state statutes,” she wrote in a Jan. 2 letter to Anderson.
Migchelbrink also stated local laws and ordinances that are more restrictive or exceed the requirements of the state or federal law cannot be enacted.
“The majority of the items in your documents pertain to election security and audits which are governed by state and federal statutes or rules. A local jurisdiction cannot enact a law that would amend a state or federal statute, as you are asking us to do,” she wrote.
For those reasons, Migchelbrink said the county could not create a ballot title that could withstand legal challenge or be automatically repealed under state law.
Anderson said the ballot initiative addresses one subject: restoring election confidence.
“One subject doesn’t mean it can’t be comprehensive,” Anderson said in an email Tuesday. “For example, the courts have ruled, ‘Where a general title is used, all that is required is rational unity between the general subject and the incidental subjects.’ ”
According to the Skamania County Clerk’s Office, only the petition had been filed as of Tuesday. No further action with the court has been scheduled.
