GOP activist with 2.4M Twitter/X followers plans 9 WA signature rallies
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- GOP activist Scott Presler plans nine signature events in WA, including a Tri-Cities stop.
- Washington Initiative 126 would require proof of citizenship to register to vote.
- Critics warn IL-26 will purge eligible voters and deter new registrations.
A conservative activist hopes to galvanize support for an initiative next week that would reform how voters register in Washington state.
Scott Presler, who helped buoy Republican voter registration efforts last year in Pennsylvania, aiding Trump win the White House, will crisscross the Evergreen State to attend nine events over five days starting Sunday.
He’ll make a Tuesday stop in the Tri-Cities at a 5 p.m. super-signer event hosted at Island View Worship Center in Richland. Other stops on his schedule include Gig Harbor, Marysville, Battle Ground, Aberdeen, Yakima, Spokane, Bellevue and Kent.
“Election integrity cannot wait,” Presler posted Friday morning to his 2.4 million followers on Twitter/X. “Let’s collect signatures to require proof of citizenship in order to register to vote.”
Presler is founder of Early Vote Action, a political action committee that aims to spur voting and registration nationwide among Republicans through volunteers. He’s received props from Vice President Vance for his tireless efforts during the 2024 election cycle.
Republicans will need a sizable shot in the arm from Presler in order to get Initiative 126, or IL-26, the number of signatures it needs to move forward.
Voters in Washington are already required to affirm their citizenship on their voter registration and ballot, but IL-26 seeks to amend that process by requiring proof of U.S. citizenship — a birth certificate, naturalization papers, passport or enhanced license — in order to register to vote.
Critics claim the initiative would be a seismic change for the state’s elections system, and would kick qualified voters off the rolls and deterring new voters from registering.
But MAGA conservatives argue the change is needed to buttress the state’s elections systems.
Similar efforts are underway in 26 states.
Some voters in California are collecting signatures to get voter ID requirements on the ballot next year, and some Oregonians are collecting signatures to end the state’s vote-by-mail system altogether.
A July 2022 poll commissioned by Washington universities and media showed overwhelming trust in the Secretary of State’s elections processes. About 71% of 800 adults surveyed online said they had a high or moderate amount of trust in Washington’s existing vote-by-mail system.
Presler’s visit also comes as the U.S. Supreme Court recently agreed to hear a case that could determine the legality of grace periods given to ballots counted after election day.
Washington currently allows local county elections departments to tally ballots that arrive after the date, but only if they are post-marked by election day or dropped in a drop box before 8 p.m. Fifteen other states allow similar policies.
“Scott Presler’s visit brings the energy we need to push the voter ID initiative across the finish line,” said Washington Republican Political Director Matt Brown in a statement. “We are fixing our election system, restoring trust in every ballot, and moving full throttle.”
The Washington initiative needs at least 309,000 signatures by January, but the party is shooting for 350,000 by Dec. 31. If they meet that cutoff, the initiative will go to the state Legislature for consideration during the 2026 session.
If lawmakers in Olympia decline to act, voters will decide whether to pass it.
The initiative has just under 150,000 signatures and activity has flagged in recent weeks, said Washington Republican Party Chairman Jim Walsh. They hope to get 50,000 to 80,000 throughout Presler’s visit and then push hard through the holidays.
This story was originally published November 14, 2025 at 2:07 PM with the headline "GOP activist with 2.4M Twitter/X followers plans 9 WA signature rallies."
