Vouchers Defeated; Evolution Defended

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Curiously unreported in the news roundup of the November, 5, 1996, election results was the outcome of two important referenda in Washington state. Similarly un- or underreported were the results of referenda on like topics in 20 previous elections between 1966 and 1993, in states from New York and Massachusetts to every state on the West Coast.

On November 5, 1996, Washington state voters defeated Initiatives 173 and 177 by 65 percent to 35 percent. The first - sponsored and promoted by Ron Taber, who also ran and was soundly defeated for the post of state super-intendent of public instruction - would have created a voucher system of nearly complete tax support for sectarian and other nonpublic schools, which currently enroll about 4 percent to 7 percent of the state's children.

The second initiative - sponsored by wealthy Jim and Fawn Brady and endorsed by former Secretary of Education Lamar Alexander and long-time voucher promoters John …