We’ve got two weeks left in I-1068′s signature gathering campaign. In 1999, the all-volunteer I-695 campaign got 250,000 signatures in the campaign’s final two weeks. The people of this state were angry at high car taxes and an initiative that offered to replace onerous taxes with a flat $30 car tab was so appealing that in that campaign’s final weeks thousands of volunteers hit the streets to make sure the initiative got on the ballot. How’d they do that?
“It’s not rocket science,” Tim Eyman once told me about making I-695′s final weeks successful.
We just need to get as many people as possible in front of as many of their fellow citizens as possible. That’s all.
With I-1068, I’m pretty sure we’ve got an issue that rings the public’s bells as hard as car taxes did in 1999. I-1068 offers marijuana legalization and subsequent re-regulation by the State Legislature instead of the continuance of onerous and wasteful criminal penalties for adult use, possession and cultivation. There’s plenty of polling at this point to suggest that the public embraces the concept. We’ve just got to get the signatures.
Right now, we need to get about two-thirds of the 250,000 signatures I-695 got in 1999 to make sure I-1068 gets on the ballot. If they could do it in 1999, we can do it in 2010. We just have to stay on the job.
And to do that we need you to continue collecting signatures and to help us find new volunteers. You should also take a look at this instant volunteer kit created by one of our Bellingham coordinators Matthew Scott.
If you need copies of the initiative, you can contact your area coordinator. A list of coordinators statewide is here. We’ve got many thousands of copies of I-1068 available statewide. And you can always fill out our volunteer form right here.
You can also download copies of the initiative itself at the top right side of this page. Please only have it reproduced on 11×17 paper, double-sided, black and white. You’ll need to go to a professional print shop to do it–sorry, but the rules in this state are so archaic–but you can handle most of that exchange via email with most shops. Or you can upload it to a website such as Fedex Office allows and place your order electronically and pick it soon after at one of their local outlets.
You can keep on top of events we’re covering by keeping in touch with us on Facebook.
So let’s get out there and get this done. We need every signed petition in the state sent our way each remaining Monday of June or turned into an area coordinator each remaining Monday of the month. Our mailing address is on the petition.
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I guess I should have mentioned that Riverfront Park and the Slightly Stoopid / Steel Pulse show are in Spokane. See you there!
Signature gatherers and volunteers should head down to Riverfront Park on Sunday, June 20th for the Slightly Stoopid, Steel Pulse and The Expendables concert. Gates open at 5::00 pm Show starts at 6:00 pm. The stage is usually in The Lilac Bowl for these LARGE concerts not the Clocktower Meadow so there are many points to catch people heading to the show.(North bank, Opera House side, etc.) This event alone should put 10.000+ prime voters in front of us. Obviously the demographic of this concert will be easier to collect signatures than at Hoopfest. Thanks!!!!
we’ve been working on this. some folks will take them some won’t but we are doing what we can.
I’m seeing quite a few petition takers out in force for the initiative 1100 (liqueur sales). Many of these people would gladly also carry an i1068 petition and ask people to sign it.
How can we get kits into these people’s hands quickly?
Where To Sign I-1068 in Woodinville?
I broke my foot so I can’t drive, but I want to sign my signature for I-1068.
Is there any place in Woodinville that has the I-1068 petition?
Went out to get signatures for the first time today. I reached 23 in 3+ hours. It wasn’t my goal, but it’s a start. I’ll be out there tomorrow, the next day, etc. until the end. I will say it was rewarding to gather signatures with a wide variety of people interested in signing. Most people smiled. Some were eager to sign. Only one person gave me any problem whatsoever.
If I can get 23 I’m sure you can get more. Set a goal.
Don’t forget to send in your petitions before June 28. Hope to see another petitioner at Marysville this weekend.
So I’m assuming we are at 160,000 signatures? That’s really good, we should make it fine if everyone pushes.
A suggestion of another item to have with you which is available free at the same government office as voter registration forms. “Voting Rights Restoration in Washington State” pamphlet. It’s amazing how many people don’t know their right to vote was restored by a change in Washington law last year. Unsurprisingly, a lot of them are eager to re-register to vote and sign I-1068. Even if someone doesn’t choose to sign the initiative it’s good to educate the public about this change in law which the Secretary of State and Attorney General certainly aren’t informing people about.
A printing tip: When you print petitions or pass-along cards at a professional print shop, ASK FOR A DISCOUNT. If you are a student, ask for a student discount. If not, ask about discounts for non-profit groups.
The print shop I use saw the content of my cards, and on both occasions I got cards printed they quietly gave me a 50% discount. We so far have been able to circulate over 1000 full-color two-sided cards in just a few days for less than $100. We plan to do one more print run at the end of the week to prepare for the final push, very likely with an additional mention of “volunteers regularly collect signatures at Wal-Mart”.
front: http://www.scribd.com/doc/32875841/Five-Reasons-to-Sign-I-1068
back: http://www.scribd.com/doc/32875843/Whatcom-County-Locations-Carrying-I-1068
Oh, and I agree with Alex: We can do this. We WILL do this!
I wholeheartedly agree. I still believe we can do this, or I wouldn’t be here! Thanks to everyone for getting signatures and mailing them to Seattle every Monday.
YEAH! Let the countdown begin!! This is so exciting, especially since this is an ALL volunteer effort! Come on everyone . . . . WE CAN DO THIS!
Hoopfest is the largest gathering of young people in the Pacific Northwest this June. PLEASE PLEASE, if you can spare the expense of traveling and are not gathering signatures at a Walmart, help us in Spokane the 26th and 27th!!!
To Philip, Douglas and all the rest of the organizers behind this movement, THANK YOU FOR THIS opportunity to participate in something all of us truly believe in. This is a moral/ethical issue for me, and I’m proud to be a volunteer!!!
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