Use of Public Facilities in Election Campaigns

Overview

RCW 29B.45.010 broadly prohibits local governments from using or allowing the use of "public facilities" to support/oppose any ballot measure or any candidate for elective office – whether at the local, state, or federal level. This prohibition was part of Initiative 276 adopted by state voters in 1972.

These rules apply to all local governments including cities, towns, counties, fire protection districts, public hospital districts, school districts, and all other agency types, and there can be significant penalties for violations.

This prohibition means that local government officers and employees may not conduct campaign-related activities using public equipment, facilities, or work time, although there are a small number of allowable exceptions.

Prohibited Activities

The general prohibition against using or allowing the use of public facilities in election campaigns is broad and comprehensive. RCW 29B.45.010 provides examples of "facilities," which include, but are not limited to:

• Local government stationery, postage, machines, or equipment;
• Use of local government employees during working hours;
• Local government vehicles, office space, or publications; and
• Clientele lists of people served by the local government.

Examples of activities that would be prohibited under this law include, but are not limited to:

• Producing or distributing a mailer that urges voters to "Vote Yes" or "Vote No" on a measure.
• Using work hours to solicit signatures, raise funds, or organize campaigns for/against a ballot measure or candidate.
• Using work computers, email accounts, printers, copiers, paper, vehicles, or any other publicly owned equipment or supplies to produce materials or campaign for/against a ballot measure or candidate, regardless of whether such use occurs during or after work hours.
• Using a work computer to access a personal social media account for campaign-related activities, or posting campaign-related messages on the agency's social media platforms.
• Displaying political materials in/on publicly owned buildings or vehicles (unless the property consists of a "neutral open forum" that is open to the public and available on a nondiscriminatory, equal access basis, or unless the property consists of "personal space").
• Using publicly owned facilities to instruct or urge public employees to campaign or vote for/against a candidate or ballot measure on their own time.
• Stating or implying that an employee's job performance might be judged according to their willingness to support/oppose a particular candidate/ballot measure, whether at work or on the employee's own time.
• Using public time and/or facilities to draft or pass a resolution by an appointed advisory board or commission taking an official position for or against a candidate/ballot measure. However, there is an exception for legislative bodies (city councils, boards of county commissioners, or the commissioners/directors of a special purpose district) as discussed below.
• Allowing a speaker to make a statement at a public meeting or during a public comment period in support of/opposition to any candidate or ballot measure. It may be helpful, particularly during election season, to include a note to this effect on the public comment agenda item, citing RCW 29B.45.010, and to have the presiding officer make a similar announcement at the beginning of the public comment period. If a speaker violates these provisions, the presiding officer can interrupt the speaker as they would any speaker who violated public comment rules.

A separate but related statute—RCW 29B.45.030—prohibits local officials or their agents from knowingly soliciting political contributions, directly or indirectly, from employees within the official's agency. See the PDC webpage on Soliciting Government Employees and Interpretation No. 95-03 regarding the definition of "local official."

And RCW 29B.45.050 prohibits state or municipal elected officials from speaking or appearing in public service announcements (PSAs) that are broadcast, shown, or distributed during the period from January 1 through the general election in a year the official is also running as a candidate for office. See the PDC's Interpretation No. 10-01 Public Service Announcements by State Elected Officials and Municipal Officers.

Allowable Activities

RCW 29B.45.010 contains three specific exceptions where local governments can use public facilities to support or oppose a ballot measure/candidate.

1. Legislative body motions/resolutions. A local governing body, such as a city council or a county/special purpose district board of commissioners, may vote on a motion or resolution to express support of or opposition to a ballot proposition, provided that the legislative body follows the required procedural steps (see the examples section below for details). However, elected officials may not campaign during public comment at public meetings of their agency’s governing board.
2. Statements by elected officials. An elected official may make a statement in support or opposition to a ballot proposition at an open press conference or in response to a specific inquiry. See PDC Interpretation No. 92-03 regarding the definition of "open press conference." However, note that this exception is limited to elected officials and does not extend to other "support" activity; for instance, a staff member may not use public agency time or facilities to prepare or distribute such a statement.
3. As part of "normal and regular conduct." The third exception is somewhat broader and allows activities which are part of the normal and regular conduct of the local government (defined in WAC 390-05-273).

In addition, RCW 29B.45.010 does not restrict the right of local government officials and employees to express their own personal views supporting or opposing a candidate or a ballot proposition, so long as that expression does not involve the use of public facilities (see WAC 390-05-271). It should be clear that the individual is expressing their opinion in a personal capacity and not as an official representative and that the activity is not tied to the individual's job performance or evaluation in any way.

Examples of elections-related activities that would likely be allowable include, but are not limited to:

• The local government legislative body adopting a resolution in accordance with state law, as discussed earlier.
• An elected official making a statement for or against a ballot measure/candidate at an open press conference or in response to a specific inquiry, as discussed earlier.
• The local government preparing or distributing an objective and neutral presentation of facts concerning a ballot measure "for information only." For example, a fact sheet could be mailed to voters or posted on the agency's website concerning the financial impact of an initiative on the local government, such as how revenues would be affected by its passage. However, local governments must take care to present this information in a fair, objective manner and to avoid any language that urges voters to "vote yes" or "vote no." The PDC has generally said that one jurisdiction-wide fact sheet per election is appropriate, and that if agencies wish to make multiple election-related communications, agency staff must be able to demonstrate that these communications are part of the agency's normal and regular conduct. See the 2015 PDC memo on Election-Related Communications by Local Government Agencies.
• An local government official or staff member preparing brochures, soliciting donations, or conducting door-to-door canvassing to raise money or generate support for or against a candidate/ballot measure, so long as such activities are on their own personal time and of their own volition.
• An local government official or staff member writing a letter to the editor, on their own personal time and of their own volition, for or against a candidate/ballot measure. The writer may even identify their position with the local government, but there should be no implication in the letter that the writer is expressing an official position on behalf of the local government.
• A local government hosting a candidate forum where all candidates have been invited to participate.
• A local government holding a public forum for citizens with pro and con representatives discussing an initiative or other ballot measure in a public meeting hall, provided that the local government normally allows use of its meeting room facilities on a nondiscriminatory, equal access basis to the public.
• A local government official or staff member wearing a political pin, button, etc. of their own volition at work during normal working hours, which is a form of personal expression rather than a use of public facilities. See PDC Interpretation No. 92-01. However, the PDC cautions that such personal expression can easily lead to other activities that are prohibited, and that wearing pins, etc. may be restricted by local policy.
• A public employee posting signs for or against a ballot measure/candidate in a "neutral public forum" space, such as a public bulletin board, that is available on a nonrestricted basis for posting signs, petitions, or advertisements. However, it might be a violation of the statute if the employee uses their position to gain special advantage, such as signing up before non-employees have had equal opportunity to seek use of the same space, or covering an entire bulletin board with their favored campaign materials and leaving no space for opposing materials or other matters.
• An employee contacting other employees, using their own personal facilities and outside of working hours, to fundraise or generate support for or against a candidate/ballot measure. However, elected officials and their agents are prohibited from soliciting political contributions from agency employees under RCW 29B.45.030 as noted earlier. In addition, senior employees should avoid soliciting subordinate employees because, no matter how carefully the campaign is conducted or the inquiry is phrased, the subordinate employee may feel that their superior is pressuring them and exerting improper influence.
• A public employee, during work hours and using public facilities, conducting research or collecting data regarding the likely results of the passage of a ballot proposition. Indeed, a local government might be remiss for not conducting such research. However, it must be clear that the research is being conducted with the purpose of gathering facts, is directly related to the agency's "normal and regular conduct," and is not designed to support or oppose the ballot measure. We recommend that agencies avoid conducting research or collecting data that they expect to be requested for use in a campaign, unless they are satisfied that they would have undertaken the same research or statistical efforts for independent reasons such as contingency planning.
• A public employee supplying public records in response to a records request made by the supporters or opponents of a candidate/ballot measure. Agencies should treat all campaigns fairly and equitably in responding to requests for public records.

Examples of Resolutions Supporting/Opposing Ballot Measures

As mentioned earlier, a local government legislative body may vote on a motion or resolution to express support or opposition to a ballot proposition under RCW 29B.45.010 if the following procedural steps are taken:

• The notice for the meeting must include the title and number of the ballot proposition, and
• Members of the legislative body or members of the public must be allowed an approximately equal opportunity to express an opposing view.

Below are selected examples; note that some of these resolutions may cite RCW 42.17A.555, which has since been recodified as RCW 29B.45.010.

• Electric City Resolution No. 2019-15 (2019) — Supports countywide public safety sales tax due to jail overcrowding and need for additional police and criminal justice staff.
• Issaquah Resolution No. 2019-13 (2019) — Opposes statewide Initiative 976 concerning motor vehicle taxes and fees due to negative impact on local transportation revenues and previous voter support of light rail projects endangered by the initiative; urges voters to vote against the initiative.
• Kirkland Resolution No. R-5334 (2018) — Supports statewide Initiative 1639 to enact stronger gun control measures and urges voters to support the initiative.
• Port of Pasco Resolution No. 1495 (2018) — Opposes statewide Initiative 1631 concerning carbon emission fees due to commission's stated belief that the initiative redirects funding from necessary transportation projects without providing any replacement transportation funding.
• Shoreline Resolution No. 513 (2023) — Supports county property tax ballot measure for veterans, seniors, and human services and encourages voters to approve the measure.
• Tumwater Resolution No. R2018-009 (2018) — Opposes local initiative to overturn the city's consumer fireworks ban, citing impacts to public safety, previous advisory vote results, election costs, and potential statutory conflict with RCW 70.77.250.

Penalties

The PDC treats alleged violations of RCW 29B.45.010 seriously, and the consequences can be significant. In addition to eroding the public's trust in government, there is a potential civil penalty up to $10,000 per violation and, if it can be shown that the violation probably affected an election's outcome, the election can be voided (RCW 29B.60.010). Elected officials have even been subject to recall attempts for violating this statute.

If there are any doubts about whether a particular election-related activity is allowable, contact your legal counsel, MRSC, or PDC staff for guidance, and err on the side of caution.

Recommended Resources

• Association of Washington Cities: Guidelines for elected and appointed officials' participation in elections activity (2017) — Provides common examples of activities that city officials may or may not do in elections activity.
• Public Disclosure Commission
  • Interpretation No. 04-02 Guidelines for Local Government Agencies in Election Campaigns — Contains detailed examples of permitted and not permitted activities based upon position type and facility type
  • Interpretation No. 01-03 Guidelines for School Districts in Election Campaigns — Contains detailed examples of permitted and not permitted activities based upon position type and facility type
  • Interpretation No. 91-03 Library Display of Campaign Materials
  • Interpretation No. 10-01 Public Service Announcements by State Elected Officials and Municipal Officers — Addresses RCW 29B.45.050 regarding public service announcements by municipal officers who will be a candidate in this year's general election
  • Interpretation No. 00-03 Use of Robes and Courtrooms in Campaign Literature by District and Municipal Court Judges