'Initiative killer' on the loose

Recently, I found myself in a committee hearing room in Olympia, listening to a panel of labor-union officials testify in favor of sharp restrictions on initiative signature drives. They said paying canvassers by the signature gives them an incentive to forge people’s names. Then I asked a simple question: Could they identify a single case of fraud in this state over the last 13 years?

A representative of the state teacher’s union accepted the challenge. “I’ll take the question and say I don’t have that handy,” she said, “but I will make sure to follow up with the committee on behalf of our te...