Citing the millions of dollars needed to successfully run an initiative in Washington, Sen. Mark Miloscia called for the use of electronic signature technology to restore democracy to the initiative process.

Miloscia introduced a bill last week to allow the use of electronic signatures in the petition process required to get an initiative on the ballot.

“This bill is about giving the initiative process back to the people rather than the millionaires,” said Miloscia. “This is an already-proven technology that we can put to work to reinvigorate the initiative process in Washington by engaging the grassroots to participate in democracy.”

Campaigns typically spend between $1 and $3 per signature in order to reach the approximate 250,000 signatures necessary to submit a ballot initiative. Senate Bill 6139 asks the secretary of state and chief information officer to create the rules and ability to use electronic signatures in submitting initiatives.

Electronic signatures for initiatives would not require the extensive paid signature-gatherers that initiative campaigns typically rely on to qualify for the ballot.

“Both the left and right have expressed growing concerns over the ability of millionaire individuals and groups to push their agendas through the ballot box,” Miloscia added. “This will start the conversation about opening the initiative process to the grassroots level.”

The Legislature already overwhelmingly passed Senate Bill 5810 this year to clarify and affirm the use of electronic signatures in state agencies. The federal government established the legal validity of electronic signatures in 2000 with the E-Sign Act.