In a decisive courtroom moment, the Pierce County Superior Court has upheld the actions of the Pierce County Auditor's Office regarding a contentious workers' rights initiative. According to Pierce County, the court ruled on Tuesday, affirming that the office followed due process in its handling of the initiative's petition signatures, which aimed for inclusion on the upcoming November ballot.
The dispute centered on whether the initiative could appear on this fall’s ballot. Plaintiffs argued it should, but the judge ruled that Tacoma’s resolution supporting the measure was filed after the deadline. As a result, the auditor correctly withheld the initiative under state law. The court also noted that, despite reviewing more than 2,000 pages of signatures, the Auditor’s Office acted with reasonable promptness, as detailed by Pierce County.
"We played it by the book, and the court's ruling reflects that," Linda Farmer declared in the office's statement. In line with the court’s ruling, the initiative will now appear on the February ballot.
