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Tag: Referendum 71

Doe v. Reed: Appeals Court upholds R-71 petition releases

Doe v. Reed: Appeals Court upholds R-71 petition releases

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected a challenge to Washington’s policy of releasing initiative and referendum petitions, specifically the Referendum 71 signatures submitted to force a public vote on the “everything but marriage” law three years ago. Secretary of State Sam Reed said he was pleased with the decision and that it honors the state voters’ commitment to the Public Records Act and transparency in government.  Reed said he hopes the challengers will let the decision stand, now…

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U.S. high court declines to block R-71 petitions

U.S. high court declines to block R-71 petitions

The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected efforts by foes of gay-marriage to block Washington state from releasing Referendum 71 petitions while an appeal is underway in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The court gave no reasoning for denying the motion by Protect Marriage Washington to issue an injunction.  The order indicates that Justice Anthony Kennedy, who is responsible for motions arising from the 9th Circuit, referred the request to the full court, which did not support the motion. The…

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R-71 petition challenge heads back to court in May

R-71 petition challenge heads back to court in May

(UPDATED AT 12:25 p.m., Nov. 19 to show Eyman has dropped his state lawsuit.) Protect Marriage Washington, gay-marriage opponents who sponsored a public vote on the state’s new domestic partnership law last November, have been given a May 31 trial date for their effort to ban public release of the 138,000 names of people who signed Referendum 71 petitions. In the meantime, the names will remain sealed, under a ruling from the bench this week by U.S. District Judge Benjamin…

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R-71 case: Nearly 2m signatures released w/o incident

R-71 case: Nearly 2m signatures released w/o incident

The state Elections Division, preparing for another court challenge of the Secretary of State’s policy of releasing initiative petitions under terms of the voter-approved Public Records Act, notes that nearly 2 million signatures have been released in recent years, without apparent incident. By the numbers: Year Released Initiative Initiative Subject Number of Signatures Submitted 2006 & 2007 917 Motor Vehicle Charges 265,809 2006 & 2007 920 Estate Tax 395,219 2009 933 Regulation of Private Property 317,353 2007 937 Energy Resources…

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R-71 public records update: Release ban continues

R-71 public records update: Release ban continues

U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle has ruled that Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed   will continue to be blocked from releasing Referendum 71 signatures while challengers mount a federal court case that aims to keep the 138,000 names under wraps permanently. The judge, in a brief hearing in his courtroom in Tacoma on Wednesday, agreed to the Reed’s request for an expedited hearing schedule. The challengers, Protect Marriage Washington, will release a list of its witnesses so the Attorney General…

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R-71 petition challenge heading back to court

R-71 petition challenge heading back to court

Protect Marriage Washington, gay-marriage opponents who forced a public vote on the state’s new domestic partnership law last November, are heading back to court to try to ban public release of the 138,000 names of people who signed Referendum 71 petitions. The U.S. Supreme Court, in a case called Doe v. Reed, ruled 8-1 on June 24 that, as a general matter, release of petitions does not violate voters’ constitutional rights. But the court also left open the possibility of…

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R-71 sponsors renew bid to ban petition release

R-71 sponsors renew bid to ban petition release

UPDATE:  The Friday hearing referred to by anti-gay marriage activists will not occur. The judge has temporarily dismissed their motion to ban release of R-71 petitions, but they can re-file the request after the U.S. Supreme Court officially returns the case to the U.S. District Court in Tacoma. Original post, with the new timing information added: It’s back to court again, as foes of last year’s Referendum 71 renew a request that the petitions be sealed from public disclosure. Protect…

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R-71 case: Reed, McKenna delighted with ruling

R-71 case: Reed, McKenna delighted with ruling

Washington’s big win in the Supreme Court is great news for the cause of open government and transparency, say Secretary of State Sam Reed and Attorney General Rob McKenna. Ironically, the situation that prompted the federal case, still remains uncertain. Protect Marriage Washington, a group that sought to overturn the state’s new domestic partnership law last fall, sued Reed in an effort to block him from releasing petitions, as is his policy under terms of the voter-approved Public Records Act. The…

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Reed, McKenna optimistic about R-71 case

Reed, McKenna optimistic about R-71 case

Attorney General Rob McKenna and Secretary of State Sam Reed emerged from the U.S. Supreme Court today optimistic that the high court will allow Washington and other states to treat initiative and referendum petitions as releasable public records. McKenna, making his third appearance before the court, and Reed, the state’s chief elections officer, both said they counted a majority of the justices who seemed sympathetic to Washington’s argument that the vote-approved Public Records Act requires release of petitions to those…

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R-71 records: McKenna, Reed head to Supreme Court

R-71 records: McKenna, Reed head to Supreme Court

Attorney General Rob McKenna and Secretary of State Sam Reed hope to persuade the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the state’s strong voter-approved Public Records Act and the policy of allowing release of initiative and referendum petitions, as most states do. Reed, the state’s chief elections officer, is the respondent in the closely watched Doe v. Reed lawsuit that could affect how petitions are handled across America.  He and McKenna met with the press on Monday to describe the landmark…

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