| Referendum 71 faces two major milestones this week: The Washington Secretary of State (SOS) anticipates that the signature checking process will wrap up on Monday or Tuesday, and the Washington Families Standing Together (WAFST) lawsuit challenging some of the SOS's signature checking practices will be heard on Monday.
 In the most recent signature checking tally, provided Friday night by the SOS, almost 130,000 from a total of 137,689 signatures had been checked. Of those, 114,583 had been accepted and 15,413 had been rejected. The results were still too close to call, but the cumulative rejection rate was 11.86%, well below the 12.4% needed for the referendum to fail to qualify.
The lawsuit filed by Washington Families Standing Together alleges that the SOS accepted in error over 2,600 petition sheets because the declaration on the sheets had been "signed" with a stamp bearing Larry Stickney's name, or left blank. WAFST also finds fault with the SOS's practice of accepting as valid signatures from signers who weren't registered to vote at the time of signing or on the petition deadline of July 25th. By law, only registered voters may sign a referendum petition.
Washington Families Standing Together is leaving nothing to chance, and continues to prepare for the November ballot. They need you to help! Please make a donation. Other ways you can take action are listed below. |
The time is now. Take Action!
VOTE APPROVED on Ref. 71 to preserve our Domestic Partnership Law in Washington State.
DONATE to Washington Families Standing Together online or mail a contribution with this form.
VOLUNTEER on a phone bank or in the office.
Circulate PLEDGE FORMS at your church or synagogue social hour, farmers markets, and other events. Return forms to Washington Families Standing Together, PO Box 12216, Seattle, WA 98102.
PRINT A PLACARD for your window. B&W ink-saver version here.
PRINT FLIERS and hand them out wherever you go.
E-MAIL your friends and family telling why they should take the Pledge to Approve Ref 71. Forward form here.
JOIN the Faith Coalition.
WRITE a letter to the editor using this nifty letter-writing tool.
ADD A REMINDER to approve Referendum 71 in your email signature. Here is a sample message: Protect all Washington State Families - Approve Referendum 71! WAFST.org
ASK ORGANIZATIONS you belong to to endorse our campaign or become coalition partners.
REGISTER TO VOTE!
FRIEND the Approve Ref. 17 Facebook group.
FOLLOW WAFST on Twitter.
What is at stake
The Domestic Partnership Law (SB 5688) was passed by the Legislature in 2009 to ensure that all Washington families are treated the same, with the same protections, the same rights and the same obligations as their neighbors. Under this law, registered domestic partners (same-sex couples and opposite-sex couples where at least one partner is over age 62), and married couples, are treated equally under state law throughout Washington.
Key rights and obligations in the law include:
Death benefits for the partners of police and firefighters killed in the line of duty.
Pension benefits for the partners of teachers and other public employees.
Victims' rights, including the right to receive notifications and benefits allowances.
The right to use sick leave to care for a seriously ill partner.
The right to workers' compensation benefits if a partner is killed in the course of employment.
The right to receive unemployment benefits if an employee must leave a job to care for a seriously ill partner.
The right to adopt a partner's child without paying for a home study.
The areas covered by the law include labor and employment law; pensions, survivor and other public employee benefits; family law; insurance rights; higher education; banks, financial institutions and loan agencies; creditors' rights and business licenses.
Opponents of the domestic partnership law are seeking to repeal it. Referendum 71 would ask voters whether the law should be approved or rejected. A vote to "APPROVE" keeps the law so that all families will have these protections in all parts of the state.
Go to Washington Families Standing Together to learn more about the referendum, and what you can do to preserve the domestic partnership law.
Washington Families Standing Together * 206-324-2570 * WAFST.org * PO Box 12216, Seattle, WA 98102
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