Calling it the most significant challenge to democracy she’s seen in Washington in her lifetime, Advocacy Director Cynthia Stewart offered League members in Skagit County a first look at how to fight back against an initiative that would disenfranchise large numbers of legally eligible voters.

“This is the beginning of a campaign to educate voters about the grievously misleading, onerous IL26-126,” said Stewart, chair of the state Lobby Team and a longtime League member.

Speaking Monday night at the local League’s monthly membership meeting, Stewart said the initiative promotes the lie that noncitizens are voting.

The state League and other pro-democracy groups are responding to the initiative with a “Decline to Sign” campaign, she said. That’s an attempt to halt the effort before proponents can collect the 309,000 signatures needed to qualify.

Stewart’s PowerPoint presentation   explained that the impact would be burdensome to voters and costly for cash-strapped counties to institute and manage.

Organized efforts across the country are seeking to make it more difficult for individuals to register to vote, maintain their current registration and vote, she noted. Those efforts include trying to eliminate mail-in voting, although IL26-125 does not include that.

IL26-126 would require all voters to have an enhanced drivers’ license or provide documentary proof of U.S. citizenship in person, Stewart said. Voters who fail to do so would see their registration canceled. The initiative was introduced by Rep. Jim Walsh, R-Aberdeen.

As an initiative to the Legislature, lawmakers could adopt the legislation as written, refer it to a vote of the people in November 2026 or propose an alternative initiative that would be on the ballot alongside of it.

Stewart noted that League opposition to IL26-126 must be conducted separate from nonpartisan tabling activities, such as voter education and registration.

“We’re at the beginning stages of this effort, to educate our members about the problems with IL26-126,” Stewart said. “In time, the League will unveil a complete ‘Decline to Sign’ campaign.”

Supporters of the initiative have until Jan. 2, 2026, to submit signatures to qualify the measure.