Island County commissioners voted to place an advisory vote on the ballot in November 2026, a first in county history.

The non-binding measure, which will essentially serve as a poll, will ask voters whether the commissioners should ban the use of consumer fireworks in unincorporated areas of the county. Under the resolution, which passed in a 2-1 vote, only people who live in unincorporated areas of the county will be able to participate. That means people in Oak Harbor, Coupeville and Langley cannot vote on the issue.

This issue was a bone of contention for Commissioner Jill Johnson, a Republican who represents the greater Oak Harbor area and cast the vote against the resolution. She previously questioned the validity of an advisory vote since some residents — particularly members of the Navy — aren’t registered voters in the county. She has said that the majority of people in her district want fireworks to remain legal, albeit just three days a year.

Johnson pointed out that some people who live in municipalities may have a second home in the county but wouldn’t get to express their opinions in the vote.

“I just don’t like creating different classes of citizens,” she said. “Some people’s votes matter and some people don’t as it relates to the communities they live in.”

Commissioner Melanie Bacon, a Democrat who represents South and Central Whidbey, said it wouldn’t be fair for people in municipalities to weigh in on an issue that only affects people who live in unincorporated areas. She used Langley residents as an example since the city banned fireworks altogether.

“I’m not sure they have the right to be telling people who live out in the country, you can’t have fireworks either,” she said.

Commissioner Janet St. Clair asked about people who live in unincorporated areas but have P.O. boxes within city or town limits. Bacon pointed out that the county auditor knows where people live.

Bacon said she received assurances from anti-fireworks proponents in the community that they would cover the cost of placing the advisory vote on the ballot.

Bacon has spearheaded an effort to restrict or ban consumer fireworks in the county and was responsible for bringing the advisory vote forward. She was unsuccessful in a prior effort to get the other two commissioners to support a ban on all consumer fireworks, but she did get an amendment passed which prohibits the use of mortar-style fireworks in the county.

St. Clair said she proposed such an advisory vote two years ago during discussions about a proposed fireworks ban. She said she felt at the time that it would be too heavy handed for the commissioners to adopt a ban since there was a mixture of opinions in the community.

Five citizens spoke in favor of the advisory vote at the start of the meeting. They included members of Citizens for Safe and Humane Fireworks, a group against the personal use of fireworks in Island County, as well as the president of the Whidbey Audubon Society. They argued that fireworks create a danger of wildfire and structure fires, frighten animals and vulnerable people, and pollute the environment, among other concerns.

Jackie Lasater, co-founder of the anti-fireworks group, said afterward that the members of the group had pressed the idea of an advisory vote and are happy that it will finally be on the ballot.

When it comes to limiting the measure to voters in unincorporated areas, she said she can see the issue through different lenses. She can see Bacon’s point of view on the issue; but on the other hand, she points out that people who live within municipalities can be affected by fireworks outside the city, especially when it comes to wildfires. Fire doesn’t see boundaries, she said.