Oregon Public Broadcasting

Six dollars a signature. That's how much the soda pop industry spent to get a tax repeal initiative on Washington's fall ballot.

It's just one sign of what's become a high-stakes year for ballot measures.

So far more than $8 million have been spent on initiative campaigns in Washington. And that was just to qualify six measures for the November ballot.

Most of that money went to paid signature gatherers.

Campaigns that started late paid a premium: as much as $6 per signature when you tally all the costs.

Dave Ammons is with the Washington Secretary of State's office. He says the last time six initiatives qualified for the Washington ballot was in 2000.

Dave Ammons: "We have noted that during a difficult economic times and when one party controls all of Olympia and state government that it's an open invitation to use the initiative process."

Besides the pop tax repeal, Washington's fall ballot will likely feature competing liquor privatization proposals. And an income tax measure among others.

So far a total of $10 million has been raised by initiative campaign. That's more than twice what had been raised by this early date in 2000.

On the web:

http://www.pdc.wa.gov/MvcQuerySystem/Committee/initiative_committees?page=1