By The Associated Press
GMO labeling measure failing
SEATTLE — A Washington state ballot measure requiring mandatory labeling of genetically engineered foods is failing in early returns.
The campaign over Initiative 522 has been one of the costliest initiative fights in state history, drawing millions of dollars from out of state.
Early polling showed voters favored the measure. But a barrage of TV and radio spots financed by a food industry group and five biotechnology companies has helped narrow the gap.
The measure was failing 45 percent to 55 percent as the first votes were being counted Tuesday night.
Voters in Washington, which is entirely vote-by-mail, must postmark their ballots by Tuesday so final election results may not be known for days.
“This is far from over and we have several days of vote counting ahead,” said Delana Jones, campaign manager for the Yes on 522 campaign, noting that about 300,000 projected votes in King County, where the measure showed strong support, have not yet been counted. “I’m cautiously optimistic.”
If voters approve I-522, Washington would be the first state to put in place labeling requirements for genetically modified foods.
The opposition has raised $22 million to defeat I-522 and had spent much of that by Election Day. Hefty contributions came from Monsanto Co., DuPont Pioneer and the Grocery Manufacturers Association, which collected millions in donations from the nation’s top food companies, including Nestle SA, General Mills Inc., Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo Inc.
Many of those companies mounted a $46 million defense to defeat a similar food-labeling measure in California last year.
Supporters of I-522 have raised about $7.9 million, backed by Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, natural food companies and consumer groups.
Only about 6 percent of the roughly $30 million raised by both sides has come from within Washington state, according to campaign finance reports.
Supporters say consumers have the right to know what’s in the food they buy, while opponents say the measure would lead to higher food costs.
Under I-522, seeds or foods containing GMO ingredients offered for retail sale would require a label starting in 2015. Some foods are exempt, including restaurant food, alcohol, certified organic food and medicine.
Most GMO crops such as field corn and soybean are used for animal feed or as ingredients in processed foods including breakfast cereal, potato chips, baked goods and sodas.
‘Initiative on initiatives’ rejected
Voters in Washington state on Tuesday overwhelmingly rejected a measure that would have expanded the rights of initiative signature gatherers.
With more than 950,000 ballots counted, about 60 percent of voters were rejecting Initiative 517 in early returns.
Because of the state’s vote-by mail system, counties will be updating their numbers daily throughout the week.
The measure would have required that voters be allowed to have their say on any proposal that qualifies for the ballot, even if a lawsuit has been filed against it. The initiative also would have given supporters a year, instead of the current six months, to collect signatures, and it would have made it a misdemeanor to interfere with the signature-gathering process.
Initiative promoter Tim Eyman filed I-517 last year just weeks after the state Supreme Court ruled that city laws allowing for red light traffic cameras are not subject to repeal by voters.
Business groups and others had lined up in opposition to the measure, saying the proposal will affect their ability to deal with nuisances outside of their stores.
A state Supreme Court ruling in 1981 found that initiative backers have a constitutional right to gather signatures at a large regional shopping mall. A 2007 attorney general opinion notes a Court of Appeals ruling stating that right is tempered by the property’s owner’s ability to place “reasonable time, place and manner restrictions on the activity.”
The attorney general’s office had not stated whether I-517 would have overridden time, place, or manner restrictions, or whether that would violate the constitutional rights of property owners, and initiative supporters had argued nothing in the proposal would have taken rights from business owners.
Jan Gee, a spokeswoman for the No on I-517 campaign, said that she was “overjoyed” with the outcome.
“I think that it shows that petition signature gatherers and Tim Eyman have stepped out too far from what the voters are comfortable with, and they spoke out loud and strong tonight,” she said.
Eyman, along with supporters Jack and Mike, released a joint statement saying that “unless reforms like those contained in Initiative 517 are enacted, only initiatives sponsored by the big guys will make it.”
$15 minimum wage builds lead
SEATTLE — A national push to create a $15 minimum wage found a new source of momentum Tuesday as an initiative on the issue built an early lead in the airport city of SeaTac.
An early vote count showed the measure carrying 54 percent of the vote. Because Washington state votes entirely by mail and ballots only need to be postmarked by Tuesday, more ballots are left to count.
The campaign in SeaTac drew national attention from both labor unions and business groups, with the two sides combining to spend $1.8 million — enough money to hire every registered voter in the city for a day at $15 per hour.
The proposal requires a $15 minimum wage for many workers in and around Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. It follows a series of summertime rallies in which fast food workers and others around the country called attention to their struggle to earn a living.
Proponents say the plan will support the local economy and particularly help thousands of workers who could use the money. Opponents express concern about the impacts on businesses and contend that the plan’s enforcement may end up costing the small city money.
Groups outside of Washington state are watching the results. National labor unions contributed to support the effort while national business organizations contributed in opposition.
The campaign also drew the attention of the mayoral candidates in nearby Seattle. Both Mayor Mike McGinn and challenger Ed Murray voiced support for the initiative and the idea of a $15 minimum wage in Seattle.
Washington state has the nation’s highest state minimum wage at $9.19 an hour. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour.
