The Washington State Public Disclosure Commission has opened the door to unlimited last-minute donations to political action committees, just as voters are filling out their ballots. The decision could affect five state Supreme Court races and the fight over legislative control in Olympia, where Democrats are seeking a legislative supermajority.

Conservative activist Brian Heywood warned the change gives progressives an advantage in the Supreme Court races. The PDC says constitutional concerns prompted the move, but the law remains on the books—the agency simply won’t enforce it.

Donors can now pour unlimited sums into outside groups running political ads, leaving voters with precious little time to track the money before Election Day. Contributions still have to be reported, generally within 48 hours, but disclosure after the fact is cold comfort to voters who have already cast their ballots.

If the PDC knew the cap was legally vulnerable, why wait until ballots were arriving to make the change? Washington voters deserve transparency before they vote—not a last-minute rule change and a scavenger hunt for who’s bankrolling the ads. Read more at MyNorthwest.com.

The Urbanist is trying to convince Washington voters that supporting Initiatives 645, 001, and 638 will somehow let MAGA take over the state, put girls through invasive “sex inspections,” and threaten democracy itself. The over-the-top rhetoric raises an obvious question: Why all the fearmongering? Because the facts make a much harder case against these initiatives.

In an op-ed opposing all three measures, Seattle software engineer Suresh Chanmugam drags Elon Musk into a debate over Washington’s millionaire tax, leans on alarming claims about girls’ sports, and downplays concerns about Democrats weakening parental rights. Instead of engaging honestly with what the initiatives would actually do, The Urbanist relies on political boogeymen and worst-case scenarios to scare voters away.

It’s a familiar playbook from the progressive left: paint every conservative-backed proposal as an existential threat, invoke MAGA at every opportunity, and hope voters are too frightened to look past the rhetoric. When the truth doesn’t help your cause, apparently the next best strategy is to manufacture a crisis and hope voters buy it. Don’t buy it. Read more at Seattle Red.

Washington workers will take home even less pay starting January 1, 2027, as the state raises its Paid Family and Medical Leave premium rate to 1.2% of gross wages, up from 1.13% this year. That’s a 6.2% increase—and triple the program’s original rate when it launched in 2019. The state says more than 221,000 people claimed benefits in the first nine months of 2026, costing more than $1.8 billion. Apparently, Olympia’s answer to a costly program is to keep reaching deeper into workers’ paychecks.

Washington Policy Center’s Elizabeth New warns that the program isn’t necessarily helping the workers who need it most. In fiscal year 2026, workers earning at least $61 an hour accounted for 19% of claims, compared with just 8% among the lowest-wage workers. New argues that lower-income employees often can’t afford to take leave even when benefits cover 90% of their wages. Meanwhile, lawmakers are considering raising the program’s statutory premium cap from 1.2% to 2%, potentially making the paycheck hit even worse.

Of course, there’s also the repeat use of benefits, growing administrative costs, and rules that can allow some public employees to earn more while on leave than while working. Republican lawmakers have proposed limiting repeat claims, shortening benefit durations, and ending so-called double-dipping, but their bills received no public hearings. Five years into the program, the Employment Security Department also sought roughly $23 million to hire 98 additional employees to administer it.

Paid leave can provide important support to families facing illness, childbirth, or caregiving responsibilities. But that doesn’t mean the program’s rising costs, uneven use, and growing appetite for worker premiums should escape scrutiny. With the rate already hitting its statutory cap, Olympia may soon have to decide whether to rein in the program—or simply demand an even bigger cut of workers’ paychecks. Read more at The Center Square.

In a new analysis, Rea S. Hederman Jr. of The Buckeye Institute and Ryan Frost of the Washington Policy Center warn that Washington Democrats’ push toward a personal income tax could undermine the state’s long-standing economic advantage. After imposing a capital gains tax in 2022 and later expanding it, lawmakers are moving closer to a broader income tax through SB 6346. The goal? More than $3 billion in annual revenue to help fund a spending habit that apparently has no off switch.

There’s just one problem: more tax revenue doesn’t automatically mean a healthier economy. The state’s Office of Financial Management warns that even with new revenue, Washington’s budget outlook remains tight, while a weaker economic forecast has shaved nearly $1 billion off projected revenue through 2031. So much for taxing our way to prosperity.

And the people lawmakers are targeting aren’t exactly stuck here. Technology professionals, entrepreneurs, and business owners can take their investments—and their tax dollars—elsewhere. IRS migration data shows Washington lost nearly 15,000 high-income taxpayers from 2021 to 2023, while a 2026 employer survey found nearly one in four employers were considering relocation.

Using its STELA economic model, The Buckeye Institute projects that the proposed tax could generate $2.6 billion in revenue in 2028 while reducing state GDP by $4.9 billion and costing roughly 7,800 jobs. By 2036, the model projects nearly 19,000 fewer jobs and $8.3 billion less in GDP, even as annual tax revenue rises to $3.3 billion. These are model estimates, not guaranteed outcomes—but they raise serious questions about whether the revenue is worth the economic trade-off.

Washington once stood out for attracting businesses, investment, and talent without a personal income tax. Now lawmakers seem determined to test how much of that advantage they can dismantle before the people paying the bills decide they’ve had enough. As Hederman and Frost argue, the state’s long-term prosperity depends on economic growth—not simply how much money Olympia can collect. Instead of addressing runaway spending, lawmakers’ answer is apparently to squeeze more money out of the economy and hope the taxpayers stick around. What could possibly go wrong? Read more at the Washington Policy Center.

Washington election officials love to assure voters that the state’s elections are “free, fair, and devoid of fraud.” Federal prosecutors now have a few questions about that talking point. Acting U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd says investigators have identified 405 non-citizens who allegedly cast more than 1,500 ballots in Washington elections, with potentially more cases to come. Some allegedly voted for years, even decades.

Floyd says the investigation uncovered serious gaps in the state’s ability to identify illegal voting, while Secretary of State Steve Hobbs insists non-citizen voting is exceedingly rare, citing just 15 documented cases between 1982 and 2025. Hobbs also accused federal officials of raising the issue to cast suspicion on election results just one week before Election Day. Conveniently, the debate over election integrity is happening right as officials are dealing with another problem: more than 20,000 ballots were rejected for late postmarks in August’s primary.

Washington has more than 5.1 million registered voters, and federal prosecutors say their investigation is far from over. So while state officials insist there’s little to see here, voters are left wondering why the state’s vaunted election safeguards apparently need federal investigators to help identify people who may be voting illegally. “Free, fair, and devoid of fraud”? That slogan may need a closer look. Read more at KUOW.

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