Washington voters were casting ballots on a handful of high-stakes statewide questions on Election Day, and the first results began rolling in as polls on the East Coast started to close. The choices included Initiative 645, a measure to repeal the state's Millionaires Tax, Initiative 001 on the Parents' Bill of Rights, and IL-638 on transgender students' participation in girls' sports.
By the time the first returns were public, the state was already deciding not just taxes but the rules that shape schools and sports. Voters were also choosing among five races for the state Supreme Court and a closely watched Seattle City Council contest, making the ballot feel less like a single contest than a stack of separate verdicts on Washington's direction.
Initiative 645 is the sharpest tax fight on the ballot. It would repeal a levy aimed at anyone or any household making more than $1 million a year, with the first $1 million in earnings exempt and income above that level subject to a 9.9% state income tax in 2029 if the tax survives legal challenges. A no vote would leave the tax in place; a yes vote would erase it before any money is collected. Supporters of the repeal say it would prevent future tax collection. Opponents warn it would trigger $13 billion in cuts to K-12 education, childcare and healthcare.
Rian Watt pushed the warning in stark terms, saying, “The bottom line is that if initiative 645 passes, there will be 13 billion dollars in cuts to K-12 education, childcare and healthcare in this state.” He added that Washington has “one of the most upside-down tax codes in the country,” arguing that “This is not the time to give a tax break to millionaires and cut K-12 education.” Jaime Herrera Beutler rejected that framing, saying opponents were claiming that repealing the tax in “the next five weeks” would cut money already in hand. “That’s not true,” she said, adding that “The tax isn’t set to actually even be collected for another two years.”
The fight over the Parents' Bill of Rights has been building for years. The legislature passed the first version, known as Initiative 2081, in 2024, and Democrats stripped much of what was passed that same issue in 2025. Initiative 001 would restore the original text, while IL-638 would add a few sections to existing state law. Courtney Normand said, “Washingtonians should vote no on this issue because it removes common sense protections for students, their families, and even for our schools,” while Anna Conner argued, “Instead of moving towards taking away their rights, we need to empower parents and teach them that their job is the most important for the child that they have in their home,”
IL-638 also sits at the center of a narrower but no less charged dispute over girls' sports. Supporters call it common sense, while opponents say it marginalizes a small group of transgender athletes. As more ballots are counted, Washington's election is not being settled by one headline issue but by several overlapping ones, and the clearest answer so far is that voters are being asked to decide how far the state should go on taxes, schools and sports all at once.
