Washington Referendum 71 (2009)
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Referendum 71 (R-71) was a vote held in 2009 in which the people of Washington state confirmed Senate Bill 5688, a law extending the rights and obligations of domestic partnership in Washington. The Bill was approved 53% to 47%; this marked the first time in the United States that voters had approved a state-wide ballot measure that extended LGBT rights, although Arizona voters had previously rejected a ban on same-sex marriages and civil unions in 2006.
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[edit] History
Senate Bill 5688 was signed by Governor Christine Gregoire on May 18, 2009.[1] On July 25, 2009, the organization Protect Marriage Washington turned in 137,881 signatures to the Washington Secretary of State's office. 120,577 valid signatures were required to qualify the referendum for the November 2009 ballot. After a complete count of all submitted signatures, 121,757 were officially verified [2] on September 1, 2009.
Under the Constitution of the State of Washington, laws passed by the legislature do not take effect until ninety days after the close of the legislative session, unless the state legislature declares an "emergency" requiring the law to take effect immediately. During this ninety day period citizens can attempt to force a referendum by gathering the required number of signatures. Under the constitution, that number is equal to four percent of the number of voters in the previous gubernatorial election. If enough signatures are gathered and presented to the Secretary of State before the ninety days have elapsed, then the law is placed on hold, and does not take effect unless it is approved by referendum held at the same time as the next election.[3]
Enactment of the Olympia-approved law was initially halted pending signature-verification; having received sufficient valid signatures to require voter re-confirmation, the state extended the hold until the results of the 2009 general election are made official.[4]
Washington state law mandates that when a measure already signed into law is put up for a referendum, voters vote either "approved" to confirm the law or "rejected" to oppose it. Thus, although the petition to put this law to a vote was circulated by its opponents, the ballot wording is such that voters vote in the affirmative to approve the law or in the negative to reject it.
Several lawsuits were filed to block R-71 from appearing on the ballot, but none was successful in court.[5] There is an active lawsuit to be heard by the Supreme Court to decide if and when signatories to ballot measures are to be revealed publicly.
[edit] Provisions of the law
The full title of the proposal approved in the referendum was Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill 5688. It was intended to make domestic partnership in Washington state equivalent to marriage, without being called by that name. For this reason it is sometimes referred to as the "everything but marriage bill". The law made many changes to the Revised Code. Its overall purpose is stated in Section 1:
It is the intent of the legislature that for all purposes under state law, state registered domestic partners shall be treated the same as married spouses ...The provisions of this act shall be liberally construed to achieve equal treatment, to the extent not in conflict with federal law, of state registered domestic partners and married spouses.
[edit] Text of referendum
Ballot Title
Statement of Subject: The legislature passed Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill 5688[6] 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.[7]
[edit] Background
The proposal to overturn the bill was filed by Larry Stickney, president of the Washington Values Alliance, a group that opposes recognition of same-sex relationships.[8] Organizations favoring the original legislation and opposing putting the issue up for referendum, such as Equal Rights Washington and Washington Families Standing Together, led the 'Decline to Sign' campaign, urging voters not to sign the petitions to put the referendum on the November 2009 ballot.
[edit] Reaction to petition
Ed Murray, who sponsored the initial domestic partnership legislation in 2007 (Senate Bill 5336), stated:
While it's regrettable that a referendum is being filed to undo the progress we made this session to treat gay and lesbian families the same as married families, I don't believe that voters will decide in November to take away rights from anyone…[9]
Governor Gregoire stated:
I respect the peoples' right to place a referendum on the ballot following legislative action. However, I am obviously very disappointed that this message will be debated once again. I signed the original bill and believe it should be and will be the law of our great state. Washington state has a history of fighting to ensure everyone – mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters – enjoys equal rights."[10]
Protect Marriage Washington argued, however, that the "consent of the governed" as per the Declaration of Independence has been withheld from same sex marriage in every state where the issue has been put to a vote of the people[citation needed]. It has been noted that Referendum 71 is about Domestic Partnerships and does not grant marriage equality to same sex couples.[11]
[edit] Polls
A 2007 University of Washington poll found 73% of Washington voters support some legal recognition of same-sex relationships (civil union/domestic partnership or marriage).[12] The same group in October 2009 conducted a poll (N = 754 registered voters) and found that 56% of respondents planned to vote 'approve', and 39% planned to vote 'reject.'[12]
A 2009 Elway Poll commissioned by the Faith and Freedom Network, an organization opposed to gay marriage, asked "Should homosexuals be allowed to legally marry?" The Elway Poll[13] (N = 405 registered voters) reported 43% saying yes and 50% saying no.
A September 2009 poll (N = 569 likely voters) commissioned by the Approve 71 campaign and conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner (GQR) found that, when presented with the actual Referendum's language, 51% of likely voters chose to approve and 44% to reject the legislation.[14] A later GQR poll (N = 500 likely voters) released on 26 October 2009 found that the 53% approved the legislation, while 36% rejected it.[15]
An October 2009 poll by Survey USA, funded by KING-TV in Seattle showed that 50% of the 561 likely voters polled would vote for the measure while 43% would reject it, 7% unsure.
[edit] Election results
| Referendum Measure 71[16] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Yes or no | Votes | Percentage |
 Yes |
951,822 | 53.15% |
| No | 838,842 | 46.85% |
| Total votes | 1,790,664 | 100.00% |
| Voter turnout | 50.88% | |
[edit] Endorsers of Referendum 71
[edit] Endorsing a vote of "approve"
- Governor Christine Gregoire
- U.S. Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell
- U.S. Representatives Jay Inslee and Jim McDermott
- 17 of 49 state senators[17]
- 46 of 98 state representatives[17]
- Microsoft[18]
- Boeing[18]
- Google[19]
- Nike, Inc.[18]
- Puget Sound Energy[18]
- RealNetworks[18]
- Vulcan Inc.[18]
- Washington State Democrats[20]
- Washington Association of Churches
- League of Women Voters of Washington
- Mainstream Republicans of Washington[21]
- Washington State Council of Firefighters
- Washington State Nurses Association
- Children's Alliance
- Washington State Bar Association
- Washington State Senior Citizens Lobby
- NAACP, King County Chapter
- over 260 other organizations[22]
Newspapers:
- The Columbian[23]
- Everett Herald[24]
- The News Tribune[25]
- The Olympian[26]
- The Oregonian[27]
- The Seattle Times[28]
- Skagit Valley Herald[29]
- The Spokesman-Review[30]
- The Stranger[31]
- Walla Walla Union-Bulletin[32]
[edit] Endorsing a vote of "reject"
- Washington Values Alliance - Larry Stickney
- Washington State Republican Party
- Washington Eagle Forum - Cindy Honcoop
- Pastor Ken Hutcherson, Antioch Bible Church
- Faith and Freedom Network - Gary Randall
- Christian Coalition of Washington - Rick Forcier
- YWAM & US Renewal - Ron Boehme
- Family Policy Institute of Washington
- Facts for Freedom - Jim Galbraith
- Washington Opposed to Pro-Homosexual Policies, Pastor Gary & Annetta Small
- Concerned Citizens of Pierce County - Pat Burgess
- The Reagan Wing - Doug Parris
- Constitution Party of Washington State
- Concerned Women for America (Washington)
- Spokane American Family Association - Wayne Lawson
- Knights of Columbus, Bremerton Council
- Washington State Catholic Conference.
[edit] Signature release controversy
The Washington State Constitution established the required number of signatures for ballot measures. Referendum sponsors must submit a number of signatures at least equal to 4% of the votes cast for the office of Governor in the most recent gubernatorial election in Washington State.[33] The state contends the papers on which these submitted signatures are collected are typically a matter of public record, and say signing a petition for a referendum or initiative that qualifies for a ballot is a legislative act and voters are entitled to know who is behind such measures.[34]
Some individuals and a group called WhoSigned.org requested these signatures for the Referendum 71 ballot application. Protect Marriage Washington filed to block the release of these signatures, arguing that, "due to the highly charged nature of the topic of Referendum 71, (domestic partnerships, gay rights, the traditional definition of marriage, etc.) that the personal information on the petitions for Referendum 71 warrant particular protection."[35] The issue escalated to the U.S. Supreme Court where on October 19 Justice Kennedy issued a temporary block to the release of the names[36] and then the following day the Court voted 8-1 (with John Paul Stevens being the lone dissenter) to withhold the signatures until the issue could receive a full hearing.[37]
[edit] Advertisements in popular culture
Satirist Stephen Colbert made light of one advertisement created by Protect Marriage Washington on The Colbert Report's October 26, 2009 show.[38] The ad asserts that in May 2004, gay marriage was legalized in Scandinavia and coincided with a suicide rate doubling and an illegal drug use increasing nineteen-fold.[38] Colbert goes on to say the ad is "terrifying", adding "and that ad is no less terrifying just because there is no country called Scandinavia, none of the countries in Scandinavia passed gay marriage laws in 2004, and the statistics on suicide and drug use are made up."[38]
[edit] See also
[edit] External references
[edit] References
- ^ The new law equates same sex civil unions with traditional marriage in every way except the title of marriage
- ^ [1]
- ^ Washington Constitution, Article II, Section 1
- ^ http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/archives/174641.asp
- ^ On September 2, 2009 King County Superior Court Judge Julie Spector [rejected http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/archives/178051.asp] a challenge to block a vote on the referendum. Noting that she had concerns about the validity of some of the signatures, the basis of her rejection was that it should have been filed in Thurston County. (Olympia, in Thurston County, is the state capital; the state's largest city, Seattle, is in King County).
- ^ http://www.secstate.wa.gov/elections/initiatives/text/r071.pdf
- ^ http://www.secstate.wa.gov/elections/initiatives/referendum.aspx
- ^ Washington Values Alliance
- ^ Challenge to domestic partnership expansion filed
- ^ Gov. Gregoire’s statement on Referendum 71
- ^ http://columbian.com/article/20091011/OPINION03/710119996/-1/OPINION Referendum 71: Pro
- ^ a b http://www.washingtonpoll.org/results.html
- ^ http://www.faithandfreedom.us/pdf/F&FReport_Elway_2009.pdf
- ^ http://approvereferendum71.org/09/approve-71-campaign-poll-shows-a-tough-fight-ahead-victory-hinges-on-voter-turnout/
- ^ [2]
- ^ http://vote.wa.gov/Elections/WEI/Results.aspx?RaceTypeCode=M&JurisdictionTypeID=-2&ElectionID=32&ViewMode=Results
- ^ a b "Washington Families Standing Together to Approve Referendum 71". http://approvereferendum71.org/. Retrieved 2009-09-23.
- ^ a b c d e f "Large employers back retaining domestic partnership benefits". http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politicsnorthwest/2009864732_large_employers_back_retaining.html. Retrieved 2009-09-27.
- ^ http://approvereferendum71.org/10/referendum-71-2/
- ^ http://wa-democrats.org/index.php?page=display&id=490
- ^ http://www.washingtonmainstream.org/Blog.php?n=30
- ^ "Organizations Endorsing Washington Families Standing Together". http://approvereferendum71.org/08/organizations-endorsing-washington-families-standing-together/. Retrieved 2009-10-26.
- ^ http://www.columbian.com/article/20091015/OPINION02/710159941/-1/OPINION
- ^ http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20091011/OPINION03/710119968/-1/OPINION
- ^ http://www.thenewstribune.com/opinion/story/914323.html
- ^ http://www.theolympian.com/opinion/story/992484.html
- ^ http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2009/10/referendum_71_would_hasten_pro.html
- ^ http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorials/2009990546_edit04ref71.html
- ^ http://www.goskagit.com/home/article/approving_r_71_only_fair_and_just_way_to_vote/
- ^ http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/oct/09/support-referendum-to-protect-rights-for-all/
- ^ http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/2009-endorsements/Content?oid=2472608
- ^ http://www.union-bulletin.com/articles/2009/10/14/opinion/daily_editorial/091014editorial01ref71.txt
- ^ http://wei.secstate.wa.gov/osos/en/initiativesReferenda/Pages/R-71FrequentlyAskedQuestions.aspx Washington State Secretary of State R-71 Frequently Asked Questions
- ^ http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20091021/NEWS01/710219703 U.S. Supreme Court shields Referendum 71 signatures
- ^ Elections Division, Office of the Secretary of State, Washington (2009-10-15). "Release of Initiative and Referendum Petitions". Press release. http://blogs.secstate.wa.gov/FromOurCorner/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Acr65.pdf. Retrieved 2009-10-20.
- ^ "Justice Kennedy blocks release of R-71 names", Seattle Times, 2009-10-19, http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2010094187_apwadomesticpartnerships2ndldwritethru.html, retrieved 2009-10-20
- ^ Referendum 71 in Washington State: Supreme Court Blocks Revelation of Signatories, 2009-10-20, http://www.acslaw.org/node/14459, retrieved 2009-10-27
- ^ a b c http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/252735/october-26-2009/the-word---don-t-ask-don-t-tell The Word: Don't Ask Don't Tell – The Colbert Report
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