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Ballot proposition activists gear up for April 28 SCOTUS hearing on signature privacy

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April 27, 2010

Photo credit: Washington Secretary of State's office

WASHINGTON, D.C. On April 28, the United States Supreme Court will hear arguments in the case of Doe v. Reed.[1][2][3] The case is about whether petition signatures affixed to a petition to place Washington's 2010 Referendum 71 on the ballot should be available to the public, or should be kept private. R-71 was an attempt to overturn, through Washington's veto referendum process, a domestic partnership law enacted by the state's legislature. (The law was upheld in the statewide vote.)

Time line

  • At the request of Protect Marriage Washington, federal judge Benjamin Settle issued a temporary restraining order on July 29, 2009 to halt the public release of a list of those who signed the R-71 petition.[4] Supporters of R-71 said in their TRO request that releasing the identity of petition signers might put those signers at risk of harassment, leading to a situation where their First Amendment rights are chilled. A hearing on whether to make the TRO permanent will take place on September 3, 2009.[5]
  • On September 10, 2009 federal judge Benjamin Settle maintained the restraining order on the signatures. State officials, were therefore, not permitted to release the names of those who signed the petitions.[6],[7]
  • On September 18, 2009 the state appealed the Judge Settle's ruling in early September. The case was scheduled for an October 14 hearing with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
  • The United States Supreme Court on October 20, 2009 voted to uphold the temporary ban on releasing petition signatures. Justice John Paul Stevens dissented.[9] The Supreme Court did not rule on the merits of the issue, and it is unclear whether it will.[10]

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Washington Secretary of State: From Our Corner, "R-71 petitions: Supreme Court sets April hearing," February 16, 2010
  2. ↑ The Spokesman Review, "Hearing set over petition signatures’ privacy," February 16, 2010
  3. ↑ The Seattle Times, "U.S. Supreme Court to hear Referendum 71 case April 28," February 16, 2010
  4. ↑ Ballot Access News, "Referendum Proponents Ask Federal Court to Protect Secrecy of Petition Signers," July 29, 2009
  5. ↑ Seattle Times, "Judge halts release of Wash. referendum signatures," July 29, 2009
  6. ↑ Seattle Times, "Judge shields signatures in gay-rights referendum," September 10, 2009
  7. ↑ Text of "Protect Marriage Washington v Sam Reed"
  8. ↑ Associated Press, "9th Circuit lifts ban on release of R-71 petitions," October 15, 2009
  9. ↑ Washington Post, "Thuggish liberalism at work in Wash. state vote," October 31, 2009
  10. ↑ The New York Times, "Privacy Looms Over Gay Rights Vote," October 31, 2009
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