Oregon Public Broadcasting

The Washington State Patrol has been asked to investigate allegations of signature fraud on a citizen initiative. A unionized homecare worker is accused of falsifying signatures on at least twenty petition sheets for I-1098. That's an income tax measure for high-earners on the November ballot. Austin Jenkins reports from Olympia.

The Secretary of State's office has concluded its internal investigation. It found some 350 questionable voter signatures. Many of them were written in what appears to be the same handwriting.

The woman at the center of the investigation is a member of the Service Employees International Union Local 775, a major backer of the income tax measure.

Spokesman Adam Glickman says the union will conduct its own investigation.

Adam Glickman: "And you know if we find that a member acted illegally or unethically, particularly using union resources, we will pursue that aggressively ourselves and that could include trying to take back that money and that include revoking a member's membership."

Glickman says the woman has already been stripped of her role on the union's bargaining team.

Initiative signature fraud is a felony in Washington. But the investigation won't keep I-1098 off the November ballot.

In fact, the Secretary of State's office has now qualified the measure to appear before voters.