Tomorrow, there may be more clarity on whether Referendum 71 petitions will be released: Thurston County Superior Court Judge Richard Hicks has set a hearing for 1:30 p.m.

Last week, he blocked the release of any petitions, saying he wanted to hear the Ninth Circuit Court’s decision. They released a brief ruling — to release the petitions — last week, but they haven’t yet released the full opinion. Here’s more on tomorrow’s hearing.

And in case you missed Inside Olympia this week, here it is. Host Austin Jenkins interviewed a supporter and opponent of Referendum 71.

Tags: public records, R71

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the Tacoma federal court’s decision today. What does that mean: R71 petition signatures are a public record, according to the court.

Here‘s the (brief) ruling. A full opinion will be issued soon.

This court case stems from the public records request for copies of Referendum 71 petitions. One of the groups that requested the documents said they would publish the names of all the signers on a web site. That prompted the organizers behind the referendum to file a lawsuit blocking the release of names.

Over at the Secretary of State’s blog, they have this to say: “There is one more legal step the state must take before releasing the petitions to the six groups or individuals who requested the records: Thurston County Superior Court Judge Richard Hicks, in a case brought by initiative activist Tim Eyman, on Wednesday issued a temporary restraining order against the Secretary releasing any petitions, until he hears from the 9th Circuit.” Read the rest of the post here.

Tags: public records, R71

If you haven’t yet seen the video voter guide, now’s a good time. I’ll include all the clips below for your viewing pleasure. And if you’re interested in Initiative 1033, don’t miss my interview with Tim Eyman yesterday. Next Thursday’s Q&A will be with Mike Ragan of the Washington Education Association, a group that opposes 1033.

Here’s Tim Eyman and Doug Shadel on 1033:

Jane Abbot Lighty and Roger Stickney on Referendum 71:

Tags: I-1033, R71, video voter guide

The Associated Press is reporting that a Thurston County judge has rejected the challenge to Referendum 71. That means it’s cleared another hurdle to the November ballot.

Tags: R71

The Seattle Times is reporting that the legal challenge to Referendum 71 in King County court has failed: That means it will be on the ballot in November (barring other legal action).

Here’s more on the matter from the Secretary of State’s blog. Dave Ammons notes that the 1,400-signature margin is possibly the lowest in history.

Tags: R71

R71 — the referendum on the “everything but marriage” bill — has the signatures. And the Secretary of State plans to certify the results today. That means voters will decide in November whether to affirm the bill to extend all the state-granted rights and responsibilities of marriage to same-sex domestic partners.

But, wait. There’s more: A King County judge will rule this morning on whether some signatures should be counted.

We’ll keep you updated on both fronts. (And sorry for the delay in reporting that R71 has made it — the blog was down.)

Tags: R71

With a day to go until they predict the count will be done, the Elections Division has checked some 131,000 signatures and approved more than 114,000 of those.

What’s it mean: R71 supporters need 120,577 valid, registered voter signatures in order to make the November ballot. If that happens, voters will decide whether same-sex domestic partners should have all the state-granted rights and responsibilities of marriage.

We should find out tomorrow — and maybe sooner, if they make a lot of progress today. We’ll keep you posted.

Tags: R71

Tags: Public Disclosure Commission, R71

Yesterday, the Public Disclosure Commission held their regular meeting. On the agenda: Whether names of people who donated to Referendum 71 should be a public record. Donors to political campaigns are a public record, but R71 backers wanted to be exempt. The PDC disagreed, so the names will continue to be a public record.

Now, for the count: More than 125,000 signatures have been counted, and Nick Handy of the Elections Division predicts they’ll be done counting by Sept. 1. R71 supporters have nearly 111,000 valid signatures, of the 120,577 needed.

Remember when Secretary of State Sam Reed predicted a lawsuit? Well, he was right.

Tags: R71

Tomorrow’s a big day: The Quality Education Council will have it’s first meeting — aired live on TVW — and the Public Disclosure Commission will meet to discuss (among other things) whether names of donors of Referendum 71 should be subject to public disclosure.

And: We’ll have the latest Q&A. Department of Transportation head Paula Hammond is the subject of tomorrow’s installment. She’ll talk about the Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement plan (a new survey shows most people are in favor of the tunnel), early tolling, the biggest road construction year in state history and much, much more.

Prep for the QEC meeting here and the PDC meeting here.

Tags: education, QEC, R71