Federal court lifts order blocking release of R-71 petitions
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Seattle Post-Intelligencer: The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday granted an immediate stay and reversed a lower court's preliminary injunction blocking the release of Referendum 71 petitions. The petitions contain the names and addresses of people who signed, hoping to put a Washington's domestic partnership law to a vote. The Washington Attorney General's Office says the ruling does not mean the signatures will be released immediately. Last month a federal judge blocked the release of names of people who signed R-71. U.S. District Court Judge Benjamin Settle said releasing the names could violate the First Amendment rights of those who signed petitions to get R-71 on the ballot. The secretary of state's office criticized the ruling, saying it was "a step away from open government." The appeals court ruled that Settle relied on a faulty legal standard. Its order said an opinion with its full legal reasoning will soon be issued. Secretary of State Sam Reed treated the petitions as a public record, not as a private act by a citizen, Reed’s office said.
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