Snohomish County Proposition No. 5 - Requiring a 4/5 Supermajority Council Vote to Increase Taxes
Snohomish County, Washington
My vote power
High
Election date
November 3, 2026
How do we calculate my vote power?
What goes into the rating for ballot measures: Representation: how much weight one vote carries here compared with a statewide vote — the smaller the district, the more each vote counts. You have more power in ballot measures because you vote directly on the policy.
Representation: Above average · 60 out of 100
This district is a good deal smaller than its state, so each vote here carries more weight than a vote in a statewide race. About 844,430 people live here.
Show the representation math
score = 50 + 50 × ln(state population ÷ this district's) ÷ ln(50,000) = 50 + 50 × ln(7,816,116 ÷ 844,430) ÷ ln(50,000) = 60.28, measured against a statewide vote in WA (grades: 66+ high, 55+ above average, 33+ average, otherwise low; a statewide race is the 50 baseline)
Above average representation + a direct vote on the policy → My vote power: High.
Ballot Measure
Supports: Government Efficiency, Government Spending Reduction
Amends the county charter so that, after January 1, 2027, the County Council needs four of its five members' votes — instead of a simple majority — to create a new tax or raise a tax rate on its own authority, without a public vote. Fees, rates, charges, special assessments, taxes already in place by that date, and renewals that do not raise the rate are not covered.
Read the official ballot measure
A YES vote means
A yes vote requires four of the five council members to agree before the council can create or raise a covered tax on its own after January 1, 2027.
A NO vote means
A no vote keeps the current simple-majority council vote for those tax decisions.
Sources: snohomishcountywa.gov2
Source: snohomishcountywa.gov