OLYMPIA — A measure seeking to lower the state sales tax unless lawmakers approve a constitutional amendment related to tax increases was still leading as election returns continue to be processed across the state.
The latest results Thursday show that Initiative 1366 has nearly 53 percent of the vote statewide. The measure is the latest effort by Tim Eyman to limit Washington lawmakers’ ability to raise taxes. It would decrease the 6.5-percent state sales tax to 5.5 percent unless the Legislature approves a constitutional amendment to reinstate a two-thirds legislative majority requirement, which would go to voters on the November 2016 ballot. Currently, taxes can be raised through a simple-majority vote of the Legislature.
The measure was passing in most counties across the state but trailed in King County, the state’s most populous. Because Washington is a vote-by-mail state, ballots will be trickling in for days.
