Washington State Constitution Research

Introduction to Washington Constitutional Amendments

A constitution defines the relationship between a government and its citizens. Many constitutions within the United States are more than a century old. While core concepts might not change over the centuries, sometimes the legislature and the people need to amend the constitution to address modern concerns. In Washington, the amendment process must begin in the state legislature. Once an amendment has passed with a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate, the people of the state must vote in favor of it. You can read more about this process in Article XXIII, Section 1 of the Washington State Constitution. The people have amended the Washington State Constitution 107 times. The following is a list of those amendments, the legislative history behind them, and the voters' guides which include features like arguments for and against passing each amendment (when available).