DAYTON, Wash.- A motion for preliminary injunction was held at the Columbia County Washington Superior Court today to remove Proposition 2 from the ballot for the 2023 November election.
Over the last year community members have created and signed a petition to dissolve the library district in Columbia County.
However, the resolution was placed on hold after a lawsuit was filed by a local political action council known as the Citizens United for Progress.
This lawsuit questioned the legality and constitutionality of placing the proposition to dissolve the library on the November Ballot.
the lawsuit claims that having Citizens of Columbia County who do not reside in the City of Dayton voting on whether or not the library district stays is unconstitutional
Today, the motion for a preliminary injunction aimed to take the preposition off of the November ballot.
The plaintiffs began by stating that the defense frequently received signatures for the petition.
The plaintiff also believed that dissolving the library district would take away vital resources for the community.
According to the plaintiff’s statement, the library provides free resources like computers, meeting spaces, and food to the community.
The plaintiff also stated that they believe it is unconstitutional to exclude the residents whose taxes pay for the library from the November vote on Proposition 2.
The defense then began their statement.
The defense believed that the petition was brought to the county after all proper steps were taken to create a ballot measure.
The defense claimed that the county had no right to challenge the measure’s ability to be on the ballot.
The Judge then spoke and made her ruling on the issue.
She stated that the plaintiff had clear legal rights and had justifiable fear that if passed the measure would cause harm to Dayton residents.
The judge also claimed that the initiative does not meet the requirements to be on the ballot.
The judge believes that this is an admin issue that is not subject to public vote.
The judge also concluded that there is a belief that two-thirds of the signatures collected for the petition were gathered unlawfully and frequently.
The judge then granted the plaintiff’s motion to keep the proposition off of the ballot in November.
