Car tabs: I-976 ballot language was irresponsible

The wording on the Initiative 976 was misleading and predatory. The state must do a better job of presenting the effects of initiatives on the actual ballot. It’s irresponsible to allow misleading garbage on I-976, rather than objective explanation.

The same thing happened last year with I-1634 being about a “grocery tax,” but it was really funded by Pepsi Co. This loophole is totally irresponsible and will continue to mislead voters.

What this means is that the public didn’t vote to de-fund public transportation, only that people don’t like the price of car tabs and don’t know or understand the purpose of that price.

This could be an opportunity for the state to recognize the importance of transparency and communicating directly with citizens, so everyone knows what happens with their money.

This vote was not a referendum on public transit; I don’t think most people were aware that by voting for lower car tabs, they were voting against mass transit and road maintenance.

More broadly, stricter processes should be implemented to ensure transparency on the ballot.

This story was originally published November 15, 2019 at 2:02 PM with the headline "Car tabs: I-976 ballot language was irresponsible."