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Tag: Referendum 71

Eyman initiative and R-71: How we voted

Eyman initiative and R-71: How we voted

There’s no suspense – Washington voters last month approved Referendum 71 upholding the state’s new “everything but marriage” domestic partnership law, and trounced Tim Eyman’s latest ballot measure, Initiative 1033 dealing with revenue limits and property tax relief.  The statewide and county-by-county numbers have been posted since election night. But how did your congressional district and your legislative district come down on these two hot-button issues?  The 2009 General Election abstract released Friday provides those answers. We see, for instance,…

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5 Questions with the Corporations Director

5 Questions with the Corporations Director

A new domestic partnership law goes into effect today. Pamela Floyd, Director for the agency’s Corporations and Charities Division, fills you in on how state domestic partnership registrations are impacted by the new law: Q.) Domestic partnerships are registered with your agency’s Corporation Division. Now that the law is in effect, does the process stay the same? The registration process stays the same. Domestic partnerships are still registered with our agency’s Corporations Division. Couples who want to register as domestic partnerships…

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Thurston judge OKs pause in Eyman lawsuit

Thurston judge OKs pause in Eyman lawsuit

Thurston County Superior Court Judge Richard Hicks has granted the state’s request to pause  further proceedings in initiative activist Tim Eyman’s court challenge of the Secretary of State’s policy of releasing initiative petitions under terms of the Public Records Act. Hicks agreed with a motion brought by a senior official of the Attorney General’s Office, Deputy Solicitor General James Pharris, to put a hold on the Thurston County lawsuit while the U.S. Supreme Court decides whether to review a federal…

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R-71: No gay-marriage bill expected in 2010

R-71: No gay-marriage bill expected in 2010

Gay-rights activists say they don’t expect to jump from their Referendum 71 victory to pursuing gay-marriage in the Legislature or in the courts right away. Sen. Ed Murray, sponsor of the state’s newly ratified domestic partnership law, tells The Herald of Everett that he isn’t expecting even a hearing in Olympia on the perennial request for the right to marry.  The spokesman for the Approve R-71 says “I think 2010 is too soon,” and activists called it a conversation for…

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Judge retains reporting, gift limits for R-71 foes

Judge retains reporting, gift limits for R-71 foes

U.S. District Judge Ronald Leighton has refused to allow foes of Referendum 71 to keep their donors a secret and to lift the usual ban on contributions of over $5,000 or more during the final days of a campaign. Family PAC is suing the state over two key provisions of the voter-approved Public Disclosure Act, a requirement for disclosure of donors of more than $25 and the ban on large donations during the last three weeks of a campaign. The group,…

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High court continues ban on releasing R-71 petitions

High court continues ban on releasing R-71 petitions

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to continue blocking, at least temporarily, Washington State from releasing Referendum 71 petitions under the state’s Public Records Act. The high court, ruling in a request by Justice Anthony Kennedy, agreed to keep in place Kennedy’s order that bans release of the documents while appeals are being sought. The court thus suspends the ruling last Thursday by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that the R-71 documents are releasable.  That means that, at least…

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R-71 petitions on hold: Justice Kennedy halts release

R-71 petitions on hold: Justice Kennedy halts release

Justice Anthony Kennedy of the U.S. Supreme Court has at least temporarily blocked release of petitions in support of putting Referendum 71 on the statewide ballot. Kennedy, in a one-page order, agreed with the request of Protect Marriage Washington to “stay” or freeze, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling last Thursday that had cleared the way for releasing the petitions under terms of the state’s broad public disclosure law.  In so doing, Kennedy let stand the order of U.S….

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R-71: Stay tuned for federal court decision on petitions

R-71: Stay tuned for federal court decision on petitions

Should Washington officials be allowed to release Referendum 71 petition sheets? That touchy issue is in the hands of a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in Pasadena, Calif., following a hearing this morning. Deputy Solicitor General Bill Collins, who represented the state, reported a very well-prepared panel and a “very lively” discussion of the issues. He said the court has taken the case under advisement without indicating when – or how – they will rule. Since the appeals…

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R-71 signature battle heads to federal appeals judges

R-71 signature battle heads to federal appeals judges

Washington’s Attorney General and Secretary of State will ask a federal appeals court on Wednesday to overturn a lower court ruling and allow release of Referendum 71 petitions. There’s some question, though, whether voters will be able to actually see the public records before the election is over and done, even if the state proves its case that the voter-approved Public Records Act requires disclosure of the documents. R-71 sponsors, Protect Marriage Washington, won a federal court order in Tacoma blocking…

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R-71: Down to the wire?

R-71: Down to the wire?

Fresh polling continues to show a tight finish in the ballot battle over whether to approve or reject Washington’s new expansion of domestic partner benefits and protections. SurveyUSA, polling 548 likely voters for KING 5, showed the battle to be within the margin of error, with little more than a week until voters can start marking mail-in ballots. As reported by Seattlepi.com, the survey showed 45 percent in favor, 42 percent opposed, and the rest undecided.  Women, Democrats, Seattle metro…

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