A lawsuit challenging Referendum 71 in Washington state which was dismissed by a King County judge last week and referred to a court in Thurston County, will be heard today. Referendum 71 would place the state's "everything but marriage law" before voters.
"Washington Families Standing Together, defending the new domestic
partnership law, is asking the Thurston County Superior Court to keep
R-71 off the ballot for several reasons. The reason most likely to get
legal traction is a claim that Protect Marriage Washington – the
anti-benefits people – allowed citizens who weren't registered voters
to sign the petitions. When petition-gatherers ran into would-be
signers who weren't registered, they had them fill out a registration
card on the spot; the card was then sent to the local county auditor. State
code says that only registered voters can sign. The legal question is,
can citizens be considered registered when they complete the card? Or
must they first be duly, officially and formally registered by county
elections officers?"
In the past, says the Secretary of State's spokesman David Ammons, the Secretary has allowed a "liberal reading" of the guidelines in order to get more voters on the state's rolls: “The secretary's view is that we're supportive of the initiative and
referendum process, and we like anything that encourages people to sign
up and register. If this is what prompts them, that's a good thing.”
