Wikipedia:Featured list candidates/List of Washington ballot measures/archive1

The following is an archived discussion of a featured list nomination. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the article's talk page or in Wikipedia talk:Featured list candidates. No further edits should be made to this page.

The list was promoted by PresN via FACBot (talk) 00:26, 8 April 2022 (UTC) [1].[reply]

List of Washington ballot measures[edit]

Featured list candidates/List of Washington ballot measures/archive1

Nominator(s): ThadeusOfNazereth^{Talk to Me!} 19:05, 3 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

I am nominating this for featured list because I've been working on it for a while and, after implementing some feedback from Reywas92 (talk · contribs) and SounderBruce (talk · contribs), I think it's ready for some more eyes on it. The list collects every ballot measure since Washington joined the union, everything is sourced directly to the results or to reliable secondary sources, and the previous formatting and inline citation issues with the list have been resolved. ThadeusOfNazereth^{Talk to Me!} 19:05, 3 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Accessibility review (MOS:DTAB)[edit]

Tables need column scopes for all column header cells, which in combination with row scopes lets screen reader software accurately determine and read out the headers for each cell of a data table. Column scopes can be added by adding !scope=col to each header cell, e.g. !Measure Name becomes !scope=col | Measure Name.
Tables need row scopes on the "primary" column for each row, which in combination with column scopes lets screen reader software accurately determine and read out the headers for each cell of a data table. Row scopes can be added by adding !scope=row to each primary cell, e.g. |Constitutional Amendment Article I, Sec. 16 becomes !scope=row |Constitutional Amendment Article I, Sec. 16.
Please see MOS:DTAB for example table code if this isn't clear. --Pres N 19:51, 3 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Done - That was clear, thank you! ThadeusOfNazereth^{Talk to Me!} 20:16, 3 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

@PresN: Checking back in - Any other issues of note? ThadeusOfNazereth^{Talk to Me!} 22:29, 28 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Resolved comments from ChrisTheDude (talk) 13:14, 8 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

;Drive-by comments

No article should start with "This is a list...." Find a way to write a more engaging opening sentence

Done - Does that look any better? ThadeusOfNazereth^{Talk to Me!} 11:40, 4 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Definitely better :-) -- ChrisTheDude (talk) 17:30, 4 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

I personally think that, rather than having lots and lots of tables, some of which are tiny, it would look better if they were all merged into one table, with the year as a column

I remember considering this when I started, but I was concerned that with a very long table, readability/navigation might be impacted. I may wait to see if others have input there before making a bigger change like that. ThadeusOfNazereth^{Talk to Me!} 11:40, 4 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

With just one or two exceptions, the descriptions are not full sentences so should not have full stops -- ChrisTheDude (talk) 07:55, 4 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Done (I think, although it's been a while since I've had a formal English class) ThadeusOfNazereth^{Talk to Me!} 11:40, 4 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Image review — Pass[edit]

There are no images in this list-article (except the sidebar image). Is there nothing more relevant image to add? I found File:Seattle - Transportation ballot measure campaign literature, 1937.jpg. Will that work? – Kavyansh.Singh (talk) 07:08, 7 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

It could, but that's a local proposition and not a larger ballot measure. I'll look around, and, if need be, can probably upload something. I could add more generic images next to the more historic ballot measures, maybe? Photo of a women's suffrage rally next to the initiative that granted them the right to vote? ThadeusOfNazereth^{Talk to Me!} 08:54, 7 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

The image (File:Washington Equal Suffrage Association put up posters in Seattle in 1910.jpg) looks great! Thats fine, pass for image review. – Kavyansh.Singh (talk) 09:12, 7 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks, Kavyansh (and thanks for tweaking the image settings, I'm not used to all the options there). What do you think about this image, of people celebrating after Ref 74 passed? ThadeusOfNazereth^{Talk to Me!} 09:37, 7 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Licence wise, its good. No issues if you add it, as long as it doesn't clutter any table. – Kavyansh.Singh (talk) 09:43, 7 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Resolved comments from ChrisTheDude (talk) 13:14, 8 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

;Further comments

Washington is linked on the second mention rather than the first. I'd also be tempted to put "The US state of Washington" to avoid confusion with Washington DC

Done - I had linked on the second because I thought it would look weird to have the first word be a wikilink, but with the phrasing change it looks much more natural. ThadeusOfNazereth^{Talk to Me!} 09:34, 7 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

"gather an number of signatures" => "gather a number of signatures"

Done ThadeusOfNazereth^{Talk to Me!} 09:34, 7 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

"equal or greater to 8%" => "equal to or greater than 8%"

Done ThadeusOfNazereth^{Talk to Me!} 09:34, 7 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

"approved by a majority of the people next general election" - think there are some words missing here

Changed to "approved by a majority of voters in the next general election." ThadeusOfNazereth^{Talk to Me!} 09:34, 7 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

"initiatives and referendum have become" => "initiatives and referendums have become"

Fixed ThadeusOfNazereth^{Talk to Me!} 09:34, 7 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

"17 of his initiatives have made it" - any way to avoid starting a sentence with digits?

Changed to "He has had 17 initiatives be placed on the ballot as of 2021." ThadeusOfNazereth^{Talk to Me!} 09:34, 7 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

"An amendment legalizing and defining the state's power to use eminent domain" - is there an appropriate wikilink for "eminent domain"? I for one have absolutely no idea wat it is......

Wikilinked (it's the right of the government to seize private property, usually to make room for highways and the like). ThadeusOfNazereth^{Talk to Me!} 09:34, 7 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

"requiring employers offer additional pay" => "requiring that employers offer additional pay"

Done ThadeusOfNazereth^{Talk to Me!} 09:34, 7 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

"An amendment requiring all voters be taxpayers" => "An amendment requiring that all voters be taxpayers"

Done ThadeusOfNazereth^{Talk to Me!} 09:34, 7 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

"creating distinct areas for trolling" - is there an appropriate wikilink for "trolling", as in this context I presume it doesn't mean being rude to people on the internet :-)

Wikilinked (should've caught that earlier, it's a very boring method of fishing) ThadeusOfNazereth^{Talk to Me!} 09:34, 7 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

"A measure requiring unions provide employers" => "A measure requiring that unions provide employers"

Done ThadeusOfNazereth^{Talk to Me!} 09:34, 7 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

That's what I got as far as 1948, I will look at the rest later....... -- ChrisTheDude (talk) 09:00, 7 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks Chris! I know this one gets pretty boring with how mundane so many of these measures are :) ThadeusOfNazereth^{Talk to Me!} 09:34, 7 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

More comments

"A measure to ban television advertising of alcoholic beverages between 8 AM and 10 PM" - isn't it more normal to write 8:00am?

Fixed - I'd always written time that way but I checked MOS and you're right. ThadeusOfNazereth^{Talk to Me!} 09:59, 8 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

"specific stretches of the Columbia River if it would interefere" - typo on last word

Fixed ThadeusOfNazereth^{Talk to Me!} 09:59, 8 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

"allowing them to sell spirituous liquor" - is "spirituous" a word?

Changed (it is a word but it's synonymous with "alcoholic") ThadeusOfNazereth^{Talk to Me!} 09:59, 8 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

"An amendment replacing the 40 mill property tax limit" - what does "40 mill" mean? $40 million?

Fixed ThadeusOfNazereth^{Talk to Me!} 09:59, 8 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

"This measure was one of two options - The other option exempted some hazardous waste from taxation" - don't think "the" should be capitalised there as it's all one sentence (this one also does need a full stop at the end).

Fixed ThadeusOfNazereth^{Talk to Me!} 09:59, 8 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

That's what I got as far as 1999 :-) -- ChrisTheDude (talk) 08:52, 8 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Comments from Kavyansh.Singh[edit]

A fascinating list which has clearly taken a lot of effort. Few comments below:

The US state of Washington — Can link U.S. state
This section also required that details of the amendment should be published in newspapers across the state before election day. — uncited?
8% of the votes in the lead v. at least eight percent of the voting population (emphasis mine)
Link Oregon
In the time since this amendment's passage, initiatives and referendums have become a prominent piece of Washington's electoral landscape. — uncited?
In 1910 the people → "In 1910, people"
making it the fifth state → "making Washington the fifth state"
Of those, only two have not since been overturned by the courts. — that means rest all are overturned?
Initiatives to the People are placed — why is P capitalized? Is "Initiatives to the People" a formal term. Same goes with "Initiatives to the Legislature"
They require a two-thirds vote in the state legislature before being placed on the ballot. — uncited?
193,,686 — typo?
180179 — no comma?
574, 856 —Initiative to the People 49 extra space?
office of Governor — MOS:JOBTITLE says G shouldn't be capitalized. Check for all other instances.
$40,000,000 — will Template:Inflation be useful here?
in Grant, Adams, Chelan, and Douglas counties — do we have links for these counties
Side note: Initiative to the People 49 did not pass!
Production — why is P capitalized?
In these sortable tables, every thing which deserves a link should be linked every single time. WP:OL doesn't apply.
mounts to $1000 — missing a comma
Department of Social Security — do we have a link?
between 8:00am and 10 pm — why '8:00' but not '10:00'? Why no space between '8:00' and am? Also, add a non-breaking space
Daylight Savings Time — why capitalised?
What is the difference between "Initiative to the People 193" and "Initiative to the People 210"
More to come

Thanks for all this! I'm making notes of a lot of these things so that I don't run into them again in future articles. I fixed most of these, with a couple notes. With Tim Eyman, yes, his others have all been overturned or partially overturned by the courts. I switched the phrasing there to "overturned or modified," which should be clearer. As far as "Initiatives to the People" and "Legislature" goes, I couldn't find any formal guidance, but they are capitalized everywhere I could find on the state elections website. There might be some minor phrasing differences between 193 and 210, but if there were they weren't significant enough to change the description on the ballot - oftentimes the same measure appears in several different elections before passing or being abandoned. On the inflation template, I added that to measures that talk about taxation and budget allocations, not the very small amounts relating to people's pensions and salaries - let me know if you want me to add it there too! And I remember chuckling about Initiative to the People 49 for a while when I added that section! ThadeusOfNazereth^{Talk to Me!} 19:50, 8 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Continuing:

I'd link Native Americans