Washington State releases Referendum 71 petitions following ruling
October 18, 2011
OLYMPIA, Washington: Petitions relating to 2009's Referendum 71 are being released as of Monday October 17 following a ruling by U.S. District Judge Ben Settle.
In 2010 the United States Supreme Court ruled 8-1 in Doe v. Reed enforcing Washington's Public Records Act; making petition signatures public.[1] Doe v. Reed addressed the issue of whether signing a petition for a ballot measure is a private, political act or whether the names of those signers can be made public.
Shortly after the 2010 ruling, anti-gay marriage activists who supported the referral of Referendum 71 to the ballot renewed their efforts to ban the release of R-71 petitions. The release of R-71 petition names remained pending following 2010 ruling because according to state officials current laws exist to protect people who are in danger of being threatened.
On October 3, 2011, the U.S. District Court in Tacoma, Washington heard oral arguments in the case.[2][3][4] On October 17, 2011 U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle ruled that the petitions can be released. Settle said, only a few examples of indecent statements or conversations were presented and that there was only speculation that the issues were connected to the measure or the release of petitioner information. He went on to add that disclosure would become the exception, rather than the rule, if just a few instances of harassment were used as the standard for preventing the release of names.[5]
Later that day, Washington State officials released copies of petitions.[5]
In response to the ruling James Bopp, Jr., an attorney for the activists, said he planned to appeal and hoped to get a temporary ruling to prevent the immediate release of names. "I think the court adopted an impossible standard for anyone to ever meet to protect themselves from an organized campaign of harassment," Bopp said.[5]
State background on petition signature release
According to state reports, the following petitions have been released under the Public Records Act:[6]
| Year released | Initiative | Number of signatures submitted |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 & 2007 | Washington Initiative 917 (2006) | 265,809 |
| 2006 & 2007 | Washington Estate Tax Repeal, Initiative 920 (2006) | 395,219 |
| 2009 | Washington "Government Takings," Initiative 933 (2006) | 317,804 |
| 2007 | Washington Energy Conservation, Initiative 937 (2006) | 337,804 |
| 2008 | Washington Long-Term Care Initiative, Initiative 1029 (2008) | 318,047 |
| 2009 | Washington Lower Property Taxes, Initiative 1033 (2009) | 315, 444 |
| Total | 1,949,676 |
See also
|
- Washington's Referendum 71 petition signature debate continues
- Doe v. Reed
- Washington Domestic Partners Rights and Responsibilities, Referendum 71 (2009)
- The signature privacy conundrum
Footnotes
- ↑ The Seattle Times, "Supreme Court rules petition signatures public; Ref. 71 names not immediately available," June 24, 2010
- ↑ Ballot Access, "Trial in Doe v Reed, Petition Privacy Case, Set for September 27, 2011," February 25, 2011
- ↑ The Seattle Times, "Fight resumes over releasing Ref. 71 names," October 2, 2011
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State: From Our Corner, "Judge: Ruling on Doe v. Reed R-71 disclosure case in 2 weeks," October 4, 2011
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Associated Press, "State releases Referendum 71 petition names," October 17, 2011
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State's: From Our Corner, "R-71 case: Nearly 2m signatures released w/o incident," August 12, 2010
| |||||
