Dan Griffey’s Disturbing Legislative Voting Record

(Originally posted on another site Nov 5, 2025)

Legislative District 35 Republican Representative Dan Griffey tends to keep a lower profile than his seat-mate, Travis Couture. He co-sponsors fewer bills that fail in committee, but he frequently votes ‘NAY’ on legislation that ultimately becomes law. 

Griffey co-sponsored two bills that, in my opinion, show a troubling disregard for democratic norms.

HB 1802 (2025) “Prohibiting obstructing a law enforcement officer or other first responder.”

Dan Griffey and 8 other House Republicans of the House Community Safety Committee sponsored bill which appears to be a serious escalation, empowering police (and ICE) to aggressively arrest or disperse protesters, journalist, and observers. There is currently no distance defined, however this text refers to anyone who "…approaches or remains within 25 feet of the law enforcement officer". Courts have repeatedly ruled that observers and journalists have a right to record at a distance where they can meaningfully observe the conduct. A 25-foot rule effectively eliminates that. Also note, this distance is in effect even on your own property. See "Stand back 25'" blog.

HB 1585 (2025) “Requiring verification of citizenship for voter registration.”

Dan Griffey and 15 other House Republicans of the House State Government & Tribal Relations Committee, including Travis Couture, sponsored this bill in late January 2025 to immediately remove from registration rolls any person that is not already proven to be a citizen. It then requires an in-person visit to the county auditor to show proof or DMV to purchase of an Enhanced Driver's License. Oddly, it would expire in 2027.

Griffey Voted Against Bills That Ultimately Became LawDespite bipartisan support for many of these measures, Representative Griffey repeatedly voted “NAY,” even when the legislation protected public safety, workers, vulnerable families, or democratic transparency. Here is a sample of bills he voted against that were passed into law.

• HB 1046 – Rescue a child or dog from a hot car He voted NAY, appearing to place property rights above human or animal life. 36 House Republicans also voted against this.

• SHB 1498 – Domestic violence co-responder teams (NAY). Creates teams that pair police with trained DV crisis responders. This is a “protect families” issue. Co-Sponsored by Griffey and Couture, but Griffey initially voted against it before switching his vote to Yay. 28 other House Republicans continued to vote against.

• HB 1540 – Homeless Native students at tribal college (NAY). Native homelessness is a serious issue; helping students is low-cost and high-value.

• SHB 1321 – Ban unauthorized militias in WA (NAY). Voting against restricting unauthorized armed groups is pro-militia, anti-public-safety.

• SHB 1308 – Employees can access their own personnel file (NAY). Most voters believe employees should have access to their own work record. Voting against basic workplace fairness looks anti-worker.

• 1686 - Create a public registry of health-care entities and their ownership/control structures. (NAY) Ensures transparency about investors and entities that own or control health-care entities, including private equity funds. 7 House Republicans voted against this, including Griffey and Couture.

• 1680 - Allows unions, labor groups, and contractors to access certified payroll to catch wage theft. (NAY) Voting against wage-theft prevention appears anti-worker and pro-cheating.

• 1971 - Requires health plans that cover prescription hormone therapy to provide reimbursement for a 12-month refill. (NAY) Voting against people filling their thyroid or menopause medication once a year makes health care more inconvenient.

To close, Representative Griffey may not seek the spotlight the way Couture often does, but his voting record speaks for itself. In my view, he has repeatedly taken positions that run counter to healthy democratic norms, even on bills that offered clear and practical benefits to families, workers, and community safety. And he is willing to co-sponsor bills that, in my view, would restrict participation, transparency, or oversight in ways that should concern many Washingtonians.