(The Center Square) – Two days after the general election, county auditors are still tabulating ballots all across Washington state, with more than 780,000 ballots outstanding as of midday Thursday.
Supporters of Initiative 2066 , to ensure natural gas as an energy choice are feeling cautiously optimistic about its passage with just over 75,000 votes to their favor.
“When all the votes come in, we’re going to win,” said Building Industry Association Vice President Greg Lane in a Tuesday night interview with The Center Square.
“More than half a million individual voters and more than 400 businesses came together to bring I-2066 to the ballot in just seven weeks. The 546,000+ signatures gathered was the second-highest for a state initiative and the most gathered in over 50 years,” according to a Nov. 6 news release from BIAW.
If it passes, I-2066 would repeal parts of a 2024 law that hastens Puget Sound Energy’s transition away from natural gas as part of an overall plan toward using more electricity.