Inslee Testifies For Bill To Punish Lies About Election Results

OLYMPIA, WA — Gov. Jay Inslee is calling on state lawmakers to pass a bill that would make it a criminal offense for political candidates and elected officials who lie about election results when they have a "likelihood to stoke violence."

The governor on Friday testified in support of Substitute Senate Bill 5843 during a public hearing in the Senate Committee on State Government & Elections. The bill, which Inslee proposed earlier this month, would allow prosecutors to charge candidates and officials who spread lies about election results with a gross misdemeanor.

"Politicians are not above anyone else who would incite violence by knowingly, recklessly, or maliciously spreading lies about lawfully run elections," the governor said.

Inslee says the bill was inspired by the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection and attack on the nation's capitol, which he says was fostered by "the Big Lie" — the false claim that the 2020 presidential election had been stolen from incumbent Donald Trump.

"The Big Lie, that we can’t trust our democracy to count the votes, has become a weapon. It’s being used all over America – including our state – and it will again incite violence. There are many examples where the law punishes lying on official documents or under oath – and I believe some standard should apply here," Inslee said.

The governor's prepared remarks did not mention the former president by name. Though Trump has continued to push election misinformation in the year since his defeat, Inslee said the goal of the bill was nonpartisan, to protect voters from lies on any and all sides.

"This bill is pro-democracy," Inslee said. "It is neutral because it applies to every politician — regardless of your preferred political party — and it is carefully written to protect the First Amendment as well. This legislation confronts an unrelenting threat that is a clear and present danger to our democracy."

Critics have accused the governor's proposal as an attack on free speech. In an apparent response, Inslee was joined by Catherine Ross, a First Amendment specialist and constitutional law professor from George Washington University Law School, who also testified in support of the legislation.

“I first learned about Governor Inslee’s proposal from an article in the Washington Post that quoted my work to suggest this bill would face an uphill battle. But on reading this piece, I agreed with the governor that these are exceptional times in which lies about the results of the last election pose a realistic threat,” Ross testified. “I thought Washington’s interests were so important I wanted this bill to be done right, and I reached out and offered to help. I consulted and helped craft the language, which I do believe addresses the First Amendment problems.”

Under the proposal, the bill only applies to officials or candidates who "knowingly, recklessly or maliciously" make false statements about elections, and have an intent of inciting lawlessness, undermining an election, or by falsely claiming they won.

"We are at a fork in the road," Inslee's remarks end. " We either adopt passivity and the gradual loss of our democracy, or we take action in the defense of the fundamental foundations of democracy. I choose action and I hope you will as well."