Anti-LGBT Referendum 71′s Chances of Making It to November Ballot Shrink

Thursday, August 6, 2009

In order for anti-LGBT Referendum 71 to make Washington state’s November ballot, the petition signatures turned in cannot have an error rate above 12.42%.

An update from the Secretary of State’s office informs that the latest count of 6,140 petition signatures contains an error rate of 14.2%, shrinking the chances of the challenge to the state’s recent “everything but marriage” domestic partnership law making it onto the ballot.

Overall, State Election workers have checked 23,457 names, accepting 20,335 and rejecting 3,122, for a total error rate of 13.31%, almost a whole point above the 12.42% sustainability rate. However the proponents of Referendum 71, Protect Marriage Washington, turned in 137,689 signatures, so many more are left to check.

“We always need to be wary of early counts, but prospects do not look well for them (R-71 sponsors),” Andrew Villeneuve, director of the Northwest Progressive Institute, a liberal policy group, told Seattle PI.

If 14 percent error rates persist, predicted Villeneuve, Referendum 71 “is on track to be rejected” for a place on the ballot.

The full signature check is expected to be completed August 17.

Posted by Unite the Fight!

This entry was posted on Friday, August 7th, 2009 at 12:42 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

2 Responses to “Anti-LGBT Referendum 71′s Chances of Making It to November Ballot Shrink”

1. Lurleen says:

   August 7, 2009 at 4:32 pm

   Actually, it’s now the reverse. A “master checker” has reinstated about 500 previously invalidated signatures, bringing the overall invalidation rate down to 11.6%. These ups and downs in the numbers is why we MUST not slow down in our preparations for a possible ballot fight in November. PLease go to WAFST.org to see how you can help prepare. Every day counts.

   Referendum 71 voters will be asked to approve or reject the domestic partnership law.
   
   

   REFERENDUM 71
   Ballot Title
   Statement of Subject: The legislature passed Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill 5688 concerning rights and responsibilities of state-registered domestic partners [and voters have filed a sufficient referendum petition on this bill].

   Concise Description: This bill would expand the rights, responsibilities, and obligations accorded state-registered same-sex and senior domestic partners to be equivalent to those of married spouses, except that a domestic partnership is not a marriage.

   Should this bill be:

   Approved ___
   Rejected ___

   Ballot Measure Summary
   Same-sex couples, or any couple that includes one person age sixty-two or older, may register as a domestic partnership with the state. Registered domestic partnerships are not marriages, and marriage is prohibited except between one man and one woman. This bill would expand the rights, responsibilities, and obligations of registered domestic partners and their families to include all rights, responsibilities, and obligations granted by or imposed by state law on married couples and their families.

   DONATE TO WASHINGTON FAMILIES STANDING TOGETHER !
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2. mdoherty says:

   August 14, 2009 at 4:05 pm

   Thank you Lurleen. The signature count changes by the day. We here at WAMA are tracking it as quickly as possible. You’re right we must not slow down our education of voters if Referendum 71 is on the ballot in November. This is too important to get wrong.