Public disclosure of the names and addresses of signers of referendum petitions does not violate the First Amendment, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Thursday. The justices, voting 8-1, rejected a broad challenge to the state of Washington’s Public Records Act in a case stemming from a referendum on a state law that extended benefits to same-sex couples.
Writing for the majority in Doe v. Reed, Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. said public disclosure of referendum petitions in general is “substantially related to the important interest of preserving the integrity of the electoral process.”
However, while rejecting the broad First Amendment challenge, the majority held open the possibility that the groups seeking anonymity in this particular case could press a narrower challenge. They could try to show, Roberts said, that the state law is unconstitutional as applied to their particular situation in which they claim that disclosure would subject them to harassment, threats or reprisals.
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