referendum 71

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WA: Referendum 71 Donor Information Now Available Online

Friday, February 17th, 2012

Washington R-71 SignaturesDominic Holden reports at Slog:

After years in federal courts and months of transcription, WhoSigned.Org went live this afternoon with a searchable database that includes the names and addresses of people who signed Referendum 71 in 2009. The referendum petition, circulated by anti-gay activists with the group Protect Marriage Washington, was an attempt to overturn Washington State’s domestic partnership law that granted same-sex couples the same state rights as marriage.

Full Story from Joe.My.God

Click here for gay wedding resources in Washington State.

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WA: Referendum 71 Vote Explains Some Legislators’ Votes on Marriage Equality

Friday, February 10th, 2012

Washington State Marriage Equality VoteTo understand the no vote cast on same-sex marriage by state Rep. Steve Kirby, a Tacoma lawmaker who usually sides with his fellow Democrats, look at how the people in his district voted in 2009 on the successful referendum giving gay couples “everything but marriage.”

In its new shape after post-census redistricting, Kirby’s diverse South Tacoma and east Lakewood district still leans heavily to the Democrats. But within its boundaries, voters opposed the expansion of domestic partnerships by a ratio of 55-45.

Hence Kirby’s vote Wednesday against gay marriage, when the bill passed the House. It passed the Senate last week.

Full Story from the Seattle Times

Click here for gay wedding resource in Washington State.

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WA: Fight Continues Over Release of Petition Signers’ Names

Monday, October 3rd, 2011

Washington Referendum 71 SignaturesHe’s known in federal-court documents as John Doe #2, a former youth pastor and unabashed opponent of gay marriage who two years ago signed a petition to put benefits for same-sex couples up to a statewide vote.

Doe is unnamed because Protect Marriage Washington, the conservative organization that ran the Referendum 71 campaign to roll back those benefits, worries about harassment and reprisals against him and 137,500 others who signed the petition.

He is the second of two John Doe plaintiffs in a lawsuit the group filed in 2009 against Washington’s secretary of state. The action succeeded in blocking release of all their names.

Full Story from the Seattle Times

Click here for gay wedding resources in Washington State.

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WA: Hearing Today on Release of Referendum 71 Petition Signatures

Wednesday, August 11th, 2010

Opponents of the state’s expanded domestic partnerships for gay couples are heading back to federal court, hoping to block the release of signed referendum petitions.

U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle is holding a hearing Wednesday, where he may decide whether to continue blocking the names and addresses of people who signed Referendum 71 petitions. The referendum was approved last fall by voters.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June that generally, the release of petition signatures does not violate constitutional rights. However, the court said Protect Marriage Washington could go back to the lower courts and try to prove that the release of their names would put them in danger.

Full Story from the Seattle Times

Click here for gay marriage resources in Washington State.

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WA: Anti Gay Marriage Groups Go to Court Over R71 Signatures… Again

Tuesday, July 20th, 2010

Opponents of the state’s expanded domestic partnership law are going back to court to try to block the release of names of people who wanted the law overturned. On June 24, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that generally, the release of petition signatures does not violate voters’ constitutional rights.

The court ruled now says disclosing names on a petition for a public referendum does not chill the signer’s freedom of speech enough to warrant overturning the state’s disclosure law.

“Voters of Washington want their government operating in open, transparent and accountable ways, and treating petitions as a public record is in keeping with that desire,” said Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed. “The Supreme Court has made it clear that there can be no blanket ban on releasing petitions and that it will be a tall order for challengers to make the case for keeping this information secret.”

Full Story from KOMO News

Click here for gay marriage resources in Washington State.

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Analysis of the Supreme Court Decision on Petition Signer Disclosure

Thursday, June 24th, 2010

In a ruling hailed by gay activists, the U.S. Supreme Court on June 24 upheld a law that requires public disclosure of the names of people who signed a petition to put an anti-gay referendum on the ballot in Washington State. But litigation over the domestic partnership battle may not yet be finished and may be back before the court in a year or so.

The 8 to 1 decision, with only Justice Clarence Thomas in dissent, said a state law requiring the names and addresses of petition signers be available to the public does not violate the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the decision – a bit of a surprise given that his questions during oral argument seemed to indicate he would be inclined to rule in favor of the plaintiffs. However, in the opinion, Roberts suggested plaintiffs could do better by limiting their challenge to the state law’s impact in the Referendum 71.

Full Story from Keen News Service

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Supreme Court Referendum 71 Case to Have Nationwide Impact

Saturday, May 1st, 2010

The U.S. Supreme Court has heard oral arguments in a case that will decide whether voter petitions are a public or private document.

The case stems from a battle in Washington over petitions for Referendum 71, a measure that sought to nullify a gay domestic partnerships law in the state. A group, Protect Marriage Washington, is asking the justices to shield the names of the 138,000 people who signed Referendum 71 petitions in hopes of overturning the same-sex domestic partner law.

The case was brought on behalf of voters who signed Referendum 71 petitions last year. At issue is whether people who sign petitions give up their right to privacy. Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna told the high court the public’s right to scrutinize petitions for fraud or errors trumps the privacy of petition signers.

Full Story fromThe State Column

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Justices Seem to Lean Toward Openness in Referendum 71 Signature Case

Thursday, April 29th, 2010

The Doe v. Reed transcript is out, and consensus is that the hearing went well for open government proponents. Attorney General Rob McKenna and Secretary of State Sam Reed emerged from the U.S. Supreme Court today optimistic that the high court will allow Washington and other states to treat initiative and referendum petitions as releasable public records.

McKenna, making his third appearance before the court, and Reed, the state’s chief elections officer, both said they counted a majority of the justices who seemed sympathetic to Washington’s argument that the vote-approved Public Records Act requires release of petitions to those who make a request and pay the duplication cost. They said the court didn’t seem inclined to pull down all disclosure laws.

“My team and I think it went well,” McKenna said in a joint news conference with Reed after the one-hour hearing before a packed court, including Justice John Paul Stevens hearing his last case. Reed concurred, saying McKenna did a persuasive job and that he’s optimistic of a win, which would be nationally significant.

Full Story from Pam’s House Blend

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WA: Is State’s Referendum 71 Supreme Court Brief Poorly Written?

Saturday, April 24th, 2010

On Wednesday, the proponents of Referendum 71 ( the unsuccessful effort to repeal last year’s everything but marriage domestic partnership law) will face off against the State of Washington in the United States Supreme Court to determine whether the First Amendment protects against the release of the identity of initiative/referendum petition signers under the Washington Public Records Act. Though this dispute has been the subject of prior articles, I reviewed the briefs filed before the Supreme Court to see how the parties’ respective arguments developed.

The Briefs of the Referendum 71 proponents are very strong. They focus well on the notion that signing an initiative is political speech subject to the broadest protection of the first amendment against intimidation, arguing corruption and intimidation are the two biggest threats to a democracy. The biggest weaknesses of their argument are (1) the lack of a record of harassment in connection with referendum 71 and (2) the question whether signing a petition is an anonymous act.

The Proponents anticipated both these issues by arguing the record of harassment during the Proposition 8 campaign in California (the successful effort to constitutional the ban on gay and lesbian marriage) and constructing a multi-step analysis of anonymity suggesting that while signers agreed to disclose their identities to the petition signature gatherers and other signers who see their signatures and to the State to confirm the validity of the signatures, they did not agree to disclose their identities to the public through the public records act.

Full Story from Publicola

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WA: All Amicus Briefs Filed in Referendum 71 Signature Case

Tuesday, April 6th, 2010

Doe v Reed, the case from Washington state over whether names and addresses of petition signers should be public, is being heard in the U.S. Supreme Court on April 28. The American Bar Association maintains an excellent web page that makes it possible for anyone to read any or all briefs, in any case about to be argued in the U.S. Supreme Court. Anyone may read the Doe v Reed briefs at this link. Scroll down to April 28.

Fourteen amicus briefs have been filed in support of privacy, and nine have been filed in support of the state of Washington, which wishes to release the names and addresses to groups so that the information may be put on a web page. One amicus on each side was submitted late, and each may or may not be accepted by the Court.

Some of the groups arguing on the side of the state say that the names and addresses should be released because that makes it possible to detect fraud. In order to buttress their position that fraud exists, two briefs attack Ralph Nader’s 2004 petition efforts. The brief of the National Conference of State Legislatures, footnote 8, refers the reader to a New York Times story of October 14, 2004, titled “Court Strikes Nader from Pennsylvania Ballot.”

Full Story from Ballot Access News

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