Oregon Public Broadcasting

You might say Northwest voters are declaring a bit of independence from their elected leaders this Fourth of July weekend.

In Washington and Oregon, several hundred thousand voters signed petitions to place a half a dozen measures on each state's ballot. The deadline was Friday. Olympia Correspondent Austin Jenkins has this update.

Austin Jenkins / Northwest News Network

I-1053 Sponsor Tim Eyman Delivers Petitions To the Washington Secretary Of State's Office.

Tim Eyman: "What's in that truck? There's a whole lot of voices from Washington voters."

Eyman's Initiative 1053 would reinstate the two-thirds requirement for legislative tax hikes that Democrats threw out earlier this year.

Republican State Senator Don Benton predicts Washington voters will overwhelmingly approve the measure this fall.

Don Benton: "And maybe this time the legislature will have enough respect for the voters of this state to actually honor it."

Other measures that appear headed for the Washington ballot include: two competing liquor store privatization proposals and a rollback of the new taxes on soda pop, candy and gum.

In Oregon, the topics range from medical marijuana to mandatory minimum sentences for certain sex offenders.