KnowThyNeighbor.org

WA Referendum 71 Petitioners join emerging national movement to suppress Public Records and Disclosure

WhoSigned.org plans to make Referendum 71 public records accessible to the people of Washington State.  How the people of this state use these public records is, as with everything, their decision and unlike Referendum 71 petitioners we have faith in the people's judgment and desire for civil and lawful discussion on our families urgent need for equal treatment under the law.

It's important for everyone to recognize that the court action to prevent the Secretary of State from releasing any public records on Referendum 71 isn't an isolated event.  Bopp, Coleson & Bostrom, the law firm behind the court action temporarily preventing us getting access to the records, is the same firm behind the challenge to public disclosure of donors in California in the wake of Proposition 8.  What we're seeing is an emerging national strategy of the aggressors painting themselves as victims and making public records secret to protect those who fund and advocate for our families continued second class status and treatment.

In past civil rights struggles is was white cloth and stitching that hid the identities of the intolerant from public view.  In this generation's civil rights struggles it's shaping up to be a cloth of faux victim-hood stitched tight with threads of legally imposed secrecy and misinformation.

In Washington State there is nothing a voter can do to remove their signature from a petition once it's submitted.  Paid Signature gatherers are not registered, how they are paid is not regulated, and per signature payment is well recognized as an incitement to fraud in other ballot initiative states.  No wonder the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center gives Washington State a failing "F" grade in their July 2009 report card. 

We hope to give voters who were misled a way to correct the record and discover the extent of signature fraud.  When it may come down to just a handful of signatures placing Referendum 71 on the ballot, understanding what part fraud and paid signature gatherers might have played is essential in ensuring the integrity of the ballot initiative and referendum process. 

We call on the Secretary of State to vigorously defend our public disclosure laws making public records for Referendum 71 available to all who request them, and to restore public faith in open government in Washington State.

WhoSigned.org files Ref. 71 petition request with WA Secretary of State

WhoSigned.org has filed it's official public records request for the Referendum 71 petition with the Secretary of State's office in Washington State.  Receipt of the request was acknowledged by public records staff at the Secretary of State's office earlier today and we look forward to working with them and our partners KnowThyNeighbor.org in making the names broadly accessible online.  

An eleventh hour push by unregistered and unregulated paid signature gatherers resulted in a rash of complaints from voters claiming they'd been misled into signing this hurtful petition. 

With no avenue for voters to remove their signatures from the petition or to correct the official public record, Washington voters need to be diligent in reading petitions they are presented, questioning signature gatherers, and understanding the impact the petition will have before giving their signature.  WhoSigned.org and KnowThyNeighbor.org will provide a way for misled Ref. 71 petition signers to tell their stories and correct the public record.  

While most recent estimates place the number of signatures gathered by petitioners at 138,000, an accurate count of submitted signatures won't be forthcoming until all petition sheets have been scanned by workers in the Elections Division later this week.  Once that's completed and staffers have an accurate submitted signature count the arduous task of validating the petition's signatures will begin.  

With such a small cushion over the 120,577 valid signature target, it's very likely that 100% of the submitted signatures will need to be verified.  With a "full check" it's expected to be several weeks before we know whether Referendum 71 will be on the ballot in November.