State plans to appeal on Ref. 71

FEDERAL COURT: Signers kept secret

BY GENE JOHNSON | The Associated Press • Published September 12, 2009

Comments (0)

SEATTLE � The state attorney general said Friday he is appealing a federal judge�s decision to keep secret the names of people who signed petitions supporting Referendum 71, which calls for a public vote on expanded domestic partnership benefits in Washington.

Attorney General Rob McKenna said he would ask the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to review the decision on a fast track and lift an injunction that blocks the release of the names.

U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle issued the injunction Thursday in Tacoma, saying signature petitions for R-71 should not be released because such a release would likely chill the First Amendment rights of the signers, who claimed they could be subject to harassment.

Settle said people have a right to participate anonymously in the political process, and the state�s Public Records Act is likely unconstitutional because it abridges that right.

The decision alarmed state officials and public records advocates, who said he misinterpreted Supreme Court precedent and would eviscerate open government laws.

To qualify for the ballot, a referendum must be backed by signatures totaling 4 percent of the turnout for the previous governor�s election. Without being able to review those names, the public would have no way of determining whether the secretary of state�s office counted them properly.

�Government documents are public records and they should be made public upon request,� Brian Zylstra, a spokesman for Secretary of State Sam Reed, said Friday. �We�re pleased the attorney general is appealing.�

The referendum, sponsored by a group called Protect Marriage Washington, asks voters to approve or reject the �everything but marriage� law that state lawmakers passed earlier this year. The law would give domestic partners all rights enjoyed by married heterosexuals.

Supporters sued in July to prevent the secretary of state�s office from releasing the petitions under the Public Disclosure Act. They argued that some R-71 backers, including Larry Stickney of Protect Marriage Washington, the campaign�s organizer, had been subject to threats and harassment, and such harassment could increase if the names of all petition signers were made public.

Next page >>