Referendum petition signers should be made public
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Yakima Herald-Republic: The state Attorney General's office is right in seeking an appeal of a federal judge's ruling that blocks release of the names and addresses of those who signed Referendum 71. What's at stake is a fundamentally important question of whether people who sign referendums in this state can do so anonymously or must be subject to the openness of Washington's public records act. On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle in Tacoma ruled that those who signed petitions calling for a public vote on expanded domestic partnership benefits in Washington should be kept secret. The following day, Attorney General Rob McKenna said he would ask the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to review the decision. He also said he would urge the appeals court to lift the injunction and release the names.
Protect Marriage Washington, a network of religious conservative groups and individuals opposed to domestic-partner benefits, was behind the lawsuit to block releasing the names. The backers of Referendum 71 feared that those who had signed the petitions would face harassment and threats, thereby undermining their First Amendment right to free speech. They based these concerns on what gay-rights activists had vowed: to post and make searchable online the names and addresses of those who signed the petitions. For their part, the gay-rights activists said they wanted to give their supporters a chance to contact petition-signers and champion their cause for equal treatment. The federal judge's decision effectively calls into question the constitutionality of the state's open records act as it deals with the initiative and referendum process. Do citizens have a right to protect their identities when seeking to change state laws through a petition or referendum?
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