State Ex Rel. Gray v. Martin

The relator, a qualified elector and registered voter in the city of Tacoma, instituted action for an alternative writ of mandate, seeking thereby to compel the defendants named therein to receive, file, and thereupon canvass certain referendum petitions tendered to them by the relator and others, and, if found sufficient, thereafter to transmit them to the city council of the city of Tacoma, for such action as is prescribed by law.

The facts are few and not in dispute. On April 16, 1947, the city council of the city of Tacoma, Washington, unanimously passed ordinance No. 13082, which…