State ex rel. Mohr v. City of Seattle

Citations

• 59 Wash. 68
• 109 P. 309
• 1910 Wash. LEXIS 1136

Syllabus

<p>Municipal Corporations — Ordinances—Referendum—Petition-Right to Withdraw Name. A person signing a referendum petition, required to be signed by a certain percentage of the voters of a city, has the right to withdraw his name therefrom before the jurisdiction of the officer to whom it is addressed attaches; but not after final action has been taken thereon.</p> <p>Same — Number of Signers — Determination. Under Seattle City Charter, art. 4, providing that a certain percentage of the voters may invoke the referendum, and that the city comptroller shall verify the sufficiency of the signatures and transmit it with his report to the city council, whose only duty is to then submit the question to the voters, the sufficiency of the signatures to the petition is to be determined by the city comptroller, and after his report is made a person signing the petition cannot withdraw his name therefrom.</p> <p>Same — Submission of Referendum' — Duty of Council. Under art. 4, Seattle City Charter, after a sufficiency of signatures to a referendum petition has been determined by the city comptroller, the city council has no discretion in the matter except to submit the question.</p> <p>Same — Action to Enforce Referendum — Parties—Right to Sue. A voter and petitioner entitled to sign a referendum petition may maintain an action to compel the city council to act thereon.</p>