Petition signer information ruling in Washington challenged
Secretary of State Sam Reed on Monday formally appealed a federal judge’s ruling that blocks the release of names of people who signed Referendum 71. In its filing (Emergency_Motion_(09-14-09).pdf”>PDF) to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the state argues that Judge Benjamin Settle’s ruling Thursday that people who sign referendums or initiatives have the First Amendment right to engage in anonymous political speech is fundamentally flawed. R-71, which will be on the November ballot, seeks to overturn the state’s new “everything but marriage” same-sex domestic partner law.