As of today there have been nine requests from six different individuals or organizations for Referendum 71 petition records. Looking at public disclosure requests going back to 2003, it's fair to say that Ref. 71 records are probably the most requested petition signature information on record.
Apart from the request from WhoSigned.org/KTN.org there are also requests from Toby Nixon on behalf of WACOG, Arthur West, Brian Spencer from The Betty Pages, Anne Levinson from WAFST, and Rache Le Corte a correspondent with the Associated Press in Olympia.
We've been transparent about our intended use but requesters aren't required to disclose their reasons for requesting public records. I've tried to contact the people requesting the records to understand their reasons for requesting them. Some requesters were seeking legal standing to help defend the Public Records Act in the Federal challenge, some were looking to understand who they needed to do outreach to in their local ballot campaign, while others couldn't be contacted at all or chose to keep their own counsel.
One of the requesters was a bit startled when I called them and wanted to know why I was calling on that number. What surprised me was that someone making a public records request didn't seem to know that their request becomes part of the public record.
With so many interested parties, I wonder how many of them will be focused on uncovering fraud and signature irregularities, and just who will make their work available for the public's scrutiny first.
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