The Saloon Fight Moves to Court: Petition Signatures Challenged
A Valley saloonkeeper tries to block Pend Oreille County’s local-option election, claiming the petition lacks enough valid voters and that many signatures are not genuine.
A Valley saloonist has started proceedings seeking to obtain an injunction restraining the county auditor from issuing a call for an election in the county unit on the local option petition. He alleges that the petition is not signed by 30 per cent of the qualified voters of the county unit, and that many of the names signed to the petition are not genuine. The case will doubtless be brought to trial in time for the auditor to give the official notice of election. The success of this proceeding will in no way affect the vote in incorporated towns where petitions were filed, as they are entirely separate from the county unit.
“He alleges that the petition is not signed by 30 per cent of the qualified voters of the county unit, and that many of the names signed to the petition are not genuine.”
Local-option fights were the era’s ballot-initiative battles, with alcohol interests using procedural challenges to stop a vote before it could happen. The question of who signed, whether signatures are valid, and who gets to decide still shapes election disputes today.
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