Early count favors investing WA Cares Fund in stock market
Voters on Tuesday were favoring a ballot measure to allow the state to invest money from Washington’s long-term care program in the stock market.
Senate Joint Resolution 8201, to allow the investment was passing with 57.3% in Tuesday night’s vote count.
Voters were asked to amend the state constitution to allow the Washington State Investment Board to invest money from the WA Cares Fund into high-return investments like stocks and private equity.
The program is a state-run public fund that working Washingtonians pay into monthly with a 0.58% payroll tax out of their wages. Eligible individuals can access up to $36,500 to pay for things like in-home care, medical equipment or nursing homes beginning in 2026.
If the measure fails, the investment board would be limited to investing the program’s funds into options such as lower-yield bonds. This was the second attempt at gaining approval from voters on the ballot after an initial attempt was shot down on the ballot in 2020. The Legislature that year also approved the resolution with a majority support from both parties.
The resolution was passed by an overwhelming majority in the state Legislature this year, but because it is a constitutional amendment it required voters to weigh in.
Ballots will continue to be counted in the coming days.
Throughout Tuesday, on this page, we’ll be updating readers on voting and elections in Seattle, Washington state and across the United States.
Incumbent Bruce Harrell is leading left-lane challenger Katie Wilson in Tuesday’s results to become Seattle’s next mayor in one of Seattle’s most competitive races.
King County, the state’s largest, with a budget larger than the city of Seattle, will elect a new leader for the first time since 2009.