PRESS RELEASE
Contact:
Green Party of Washington State
Marc Mixon, Chair
chair@greenpartywashington.org
VOTE “NO” ON STATEWIDE BALLOT INITIATIVES 001, 638, and 645
The Green Party of Washington (GPWA) stands for tax fairness, protections for vulnerable students, and condemns transphobic hate mongering. We ask our candidates, members, and chapters to publicly oppose these measures and vote NO on them when casting their November 3, 2026 general election ballots.
Greens say NO
INITIATIVE TO THE PEOPLE – I-645
This ballot measure is a cynical attempt to undo this year’s enactment of the “Millionaire’s Tax,” which was itself a watered-down half-step towards tax fairness.
Federal and state taxes must be strongly progressive, which does not happen under capitalism without a fight. Green Party Washington member Kshama Sawant, whose 2026 Congressional campaign GPWA endorsed, has been a leader in the fight to tax the rich to fund programs that ordinary people need.
Our party platform* further calls out the lack of justice: “[the] current tax system is outrageously unjust. It is riddled with loopholes, subsidies, and dodges for corporations and the super-rich. Most working people pay too much in taxes compared to corporations, multi-millionaires and billionaires. Many of our biggest and most profitable corporations pay little or no tax. Much investment income is taxed at less than the rate workers pay.”
“We can afford to cut taxes for most people if we make corporations and the super-rich pay their fair share. Then we can cut them even more when we halt our nation’s wasteful spending on wars, weaponry and militarism.”
* https://www.gp.org/economic_justice_and_sustainability/#ejFairTaxation
Greens say:
NO HATE IN WA STATE
INITIATIVE TO THE LEGISLATURE – I-001
INITIATIVE TO THE LEGISLATURE – I-638
Greens proudly endorse the statewide mobilization against these two initiatives.
Elaborating on opposition to I-001, GPWA Chair Marc Mixon stated, “I-001 would take away common sense protections from kids in schools who are victims of child abuse while weakening parental notification requirements when a child is a victim of a crime at school. Furthermore, its intent and result would be to further marginalize LGBTQ+ teens by forcing teachers and counselors to ‘out’ them to their abusive parents, when we know research shows that 40% of LGBTQ+ homeless youth were kicked out of their home because of their identities.”
Regarding I-638, GPWA member Margaret Elisabeth, who co-chairs both Seattle Greens and the National Lavender Green Caucus, and who ran for Seattle City Council in 2023, warns: “I-638 would require all girls to submit to inspections of their genitalia before being allowed to play any sport in elementary, middle, and high school. This is one of the most invasive legislative efforts against trans people in the United States. Brian Heywood, the ultra-wealthy sponsor of I-638, envisions that all girls who wish to participate in scholastic sports be forced to undergo an invasive genital inspection before they are allowed to participate. This cost will be borne by parents and will not be covered by existing insurance policies. Parents will not be able to use birth certification to prove the sex of the child.
This policy will affect tens of thousands of girls who participate in athletics in Washington, while boys are exempt from this invasive procedure. Already, girls’ athletics are supported at comparatively small levels compared to boys, with girls’ teams regularly lacking the same equipment and opportunity as boys’ teams.
The Washington Interscholastic Athletic Association says that there are 5-10 trans kids playing sports in our State, out of 1.2 million students. This is less than 0.0008% of the elementary, middle, and high school students in the State. It staggers the imagination that legislation would be introduced in our State that would literally impact more than a million students because 10 trans kids are playing sports.”
GPWA member Noah Martin adds, “I-638 is nothing but a multimillion-dollar sexual harassment campaign against Washington’s scholastic athletes. A vote against I-638 is a vote against predators abusing the ballot to bully our children.”
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