States / Washington

Washington

One in five people in Washington who took the quiz scored libertarian, about the same as the country. One in 51 voted that way. Here is what the count says about Washington, what the state has changed, and who is doing the work.

18.2%

of quiz takers hold libertarian positions11,737 people with a Washington ZIP, January to October 2024, margin ±0.7 points

2.0%

voted Libertarian2020 presidential, 80,500 of 4.1 million votes

23of 50

on the state score49.1 of 100 from five published parts

How Washington scores

49.1 of 100, rank 23 of 50. Five parts, each turned into a 0 to 100 mark and weighted as shown. The method page has the formulas.

Personal freedom Cato rank 13 of 50, 202376weight 25

Economic freedom Cato rank 38 of 50, 202324weight 25

Civil forfeiture law Institute for Justice grade D, 202525weight 10

Quiz takers who hold libertarian positions 18.2% of 11,737, pulled toward the national 18.9% for sample size, then ranked against the other states36weight 25

Voted Libertarian for president 1.97% in 2020, ranked against the other states83weight 15

Wins on the ledger, 3 for Washington, are listed below and left out of the score, because the ledger records what we have checked, not everything that happened.

Where Washington lands

Quiz takers in the state against quiz takers everywhere, by type. The bar is the state; the line is the country.

Libertarian18.2%

Moderate44.9%

Progressive25.2%

Conservative6.4%

Authoritarian5.3%

United States, same window. These are quiz takers, not a sample of residents. The current quiz version cannot be shown by state until ZIP capture, which stopped in January 2026, is restored.

How free is Washington

Eight measures, each from its publisher, each with the year it was measured.

Overall freedom rank37 of 50Cato, 2023

Economic freedom rank38Cato, 2023

Personal freedom rank13Cato, 2023

Education freedom rank—not ranked

Civil forfeiture gradeDInstitute for Justice, 2025

Right to workNoNRTW, 2024

Concealed carryShall issueUSCCA, 2025

CannabisRecreationalNCSL, 2025

What Washington changed

Every entry is a real change in what the government forbids or requires, one an ordinary person could feel the next day, with sources. Partial wins say so.

Washington enacts first comprehensive statewide rules for license-plate-reader surveillance
Washington's Driver Privacy Act caps ALPR data retention at 21 days, requires a warrant for law-enforcement access, bans buying and selling the data, and bars immigration-enforcement and First-Amendment-monitoring uses.
Work by ACLU of Washington. Washington State Legislature ACLU of Washington
Surveillance, March 2026
Washington enacts right-to-repair laws for consumer electronics and mobility devices
Partial win
Washington's Right to Repair Act makes consumer-electronics manufacturers provide parts, tools, and documentation on fair terms and bans parts-pairing software locks; a companion bill covers mobility devices.
Why this is a partial win
As in Texas, the gain to owners arrives as a mandate on manufacturers, including a ban on software locks that pair parts to devices. The ledger records the owner's widened control and names the mandate that produced it.
Work by WashPIRG, The Repair Coalition, Electronic Frontier Foundation. Washington State Legislature Washington State Legislature
Right to make and repair, May 2025
Washington raises the bar for forfeiture and shifts the burden onto the government
Washington HB 1440 raises the standard of proof for civil asset forfeiture to clear, cogent, and convincing evidence, shifts the burden of proof from property owners onto the government, and consolidates the state's scattered forfeiture laws into one statute.
Work by Institute for Justice. Washington State Senate Democrats (Sen. Bob Hasegawa)MRSC
Criminal justice, May 2025

Who is doing the work in Washington

Advocates for Self-Government, which publishes this site, works in every state. 1 group is based in Washington, and other national groups take cases and run programs everywhere. Say who you are and what you care about to sort the whole directory.

Advocates for Self-GovernmentPublishes the World's Smallest Political Quiz, teaches libertarians to persuade, and runs this site. Founded 1985, based in Sacramento. Take the quiz, run it for a room, a booth or your own site, and the Operation Politically Homeless booth program.Sacramento, CA, publishes this site

Washington Policy CenterFree market policy research and advocacy at the state capitol.Seattle, WA

Cato InstitutePublic policy research across every issue on this site, with a sponsors program and internships.National

Reason FoundationPolicy research on transportation, pensions, drug policy, criminal justice and education, and publisher of Reason magazine.National

Institute for JusticePublic-interest law firm that litigates occupational licensing, civil forfeiture, eminent domain, school choice and free speech cases at no cost to the client.National

Who are you, and what do you care about?Find your people in Washington

Count Washington

The state's count grows one booth and one classroom at a time. Three ways to add to it.

Be countedTake the quiz. Your result joins the Washington count the same day, with nothing attached but two scores and a ZIP. Count a roomRun a live session with a join code at a dinner, a meeting, a club or a class, and watch the chart fill in. Count a crowdSet up a booth with the QR poster and talk, or drop the quiz into your own site and keep the leads.