Washington state voters rejected a referendum to permit affirmative action in hiring decisions, election officials confirmed Tuesday evening.
Officials announced after a week of counting that Referendum 88, which would have allowed the state government to use minority status as a factor in public education, hiring, and other public acts so long as it did not erect a quota system, had failed by 13,000 votes. The referendum would have overturned the state’s civil rights initiative that explicitly prohibits any discrimination or preference on grounds of race, sex, or other protected status.
The defeat of Referendum 88 in a state otherwise dominated by Democrats may serve as a warning to national candidates, even as 2020 contenders race to the left on everything from “more-inclusive” language to reparations for slavery.
The Democrat-controlled state legislature passed an affirmative action bill known as Initiative 1000 in April. Initiative 1000 would have expanded the scope of discrimination laws to include sexual orientation, disability, and veteran status. But it also would have given the Washington state government free rein to give preferential treatment to groups it views as minorities.
Activists challenged the bill and put the issue directly in the hands of residents rather than lawmakers. Tuesday’s results reaffirmed a 1998 ballot initiative in which voters approved an anti-affirmative action law by a 58-42 margin. – READ MORE