Election Prep: King County Initiative 25

Ballot Text:

Initiative 25 is a proposed ordinance. If approved by voters, it would place a charter amendment on the November 2008 general election ballot that would ask: “Shall the King County Charter be amended to provide that the position of county director of elections be created as a nonpartisan elected office?” Should Initiative 25 be adopted so that this charter amendment will be placed before voters in November 2008?

Explanation, pro/cons and full text here.

OK, let me get this straight, this is a vote to ask if I think that in the next election we should vote on something? What kind of asinine process requires a step like this, a vote to agree to vote later? OK, I know legislative bodies do that kind of thing all the time (and it is stupid there too). But it is idiotic to require this sort of thing in a public election. Have a process that lets you get something on the ballot directly if you must, but a vote on if you should have a vote? Come on.

In any case, looking briefly at what is proposed to be put on the NEXT ballot, I think I would vote against it. But this is NOT a vote on the merits of that proposal, this is just a vote on if the other thing should be voted on later. And I’m OK with that. The question here is really, “is this an issue that should be decided by the people directly rather than by another process”. The issue at hand is a structural one. Basically if the County Director of Elections should be an elected position rather than an appointed one. I am generally against bringing POLICY matters directly to the people, that is what a legislature is for, and on most issues I think direct democracy is folly, and the representative nature of a legislature provides a direct buffer. But for structural issues, I think a direct vote is sometimes appropriate. So I will go ahead and vote:

YES