Jul 31, 2009  |  By: Chris Johnson  | COMMENTS     

Anti-gay forces last week submitted signatures for a referendum in Washington that would repeal the state’s recent domestic partner registry expansion.

But supporters of the registry were uncertain whether the signatures submitted July 25 would withstand scrutiny after Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed (R) verifies them.

Initiating a November referendum in Washington requires 120,577 valid voter signatures. Forces opposing the domestic partner registry expansion submitted about 138,000 names, which is more than required, but fewer than the 150,000 names that had been recommended for greater assurance the measure would make the ballot.

Should there be enough signatures for certification, the measure would be known as Referendum 71.

Marty Rouse, the Human Rights Campaign’s national field director, said, “there’s still a reasonable chance” that there won’t be enough valid names to qualify the measure for the ballot.

“My understanding is, from talking to our people in Washington, is that they are right at the edge of what is a generally acceptable number to submit in order to qualify,” he said. “I’m hopeful that there will not be enough verified signatures.”

David Ammons, a spokesperson for Reed, said since the number of submitted signatures was so close to the necessary threshold, officials would probably have to verify the validity of each name as opposed to a more traditional, random sample check.

“They’re kind of on the bubble whether they’ll make it or not,” he said.

Ammons said it would probably take a couple of weeks to make a certification decision.

Signed into law by Gov. Chris Gregoire (D) on May 18, the expansion made Washington’s domestic partner registry the legal equivalent of marriage. Among other things, the law expands partner benefits for public sector employees.

But by submitting the signatures, gay rights opponents halted the law from taking effect July 26, as was planned. The law will now take effect either after state officials determine there aren’t enough valid signatures to force a referendum, or after the electorate decides the matter.

One organization working to put the referendum on the ballot is the Faith & Freedom Network, a conservative group that operates in the Northwest U.S. The organization didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Gary Randall, president of Faith & Freedom, celebrated the submission of the signatures on the organization’s blog and said he’s grateful to those “who worked so hard and to God for His help.”

“I have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of positive comments of appreciation and encouragement sent to us since Saturday afternoon — for our willingness to continue to stand in the gap for righteousness,” he wrote.

Rouse said HRC is “working very closely” with its allies in Washington — such as Equal Rights Washington, a statewide LGBT group — and will discuss strategy in case the referendum appears on the ballot. Those plans would involve building on previous work that was done to identify supporters of the domestic partner registry.

“That work that has been done over the past several years will be needed because we’ll need a volunteer army across the state to help defeat it, if this is at the ballot,” Rouse said.

State Rep. Jamie Pedersen (D), a gay lawmaker who sponsored the House version of the expansion legislation, said the coalition working to defend the law — Washington Families Standing Together — has already started preparations.

“We’ve been busy collecting the endorsements from a pretty broad variety of different groups — labor, women’s groups, gay groups, Democrats, all sorts of civil rights organizations,” he said.

A “huge number” of elected officials signed on in support of the law, Pedersen said, including 44 State House members.

Activists are optimistic that the referendum will fail if it comes to the ballot. Rouse said “there’s a very strong chance” that supporters of the domestic partner registry could win at the polls.

“I think if the voters understand what will be on the ballot, I think we have a very good chance of defeating this because of the strong support in Washington state for partnership recognition for gay and lesbian couples,” he said.

Pedersen said he would be “astonished” if gay rights opponents succeeded with a referendum this fall.

“It’s going to take money and work,” he said, “but I think, honestly, it’s a huge opportunity for us to do what the domestic partner registry was really meant to do, which is to educate people about the harms that our families face as a result of not having access to marriage.”