Weighing in
A weekly look at reader comments and reactions to the news
The news that the U.S. Supreme Court has temporarily blocked the release of the names of those who signed referendum petitions to put expanded rights for gay couples up for a public vote in November attracted many comments at spokesman.com.
The ruling puts a hold on a lower court decision to release the names, while the Supreme Court justices consider whether to take up the case. Here are some excerpts from the comments:
wsu1983: We are supposed to have transparency in the petition process. What’s to think about? Release the names of those who actively seek to thwart the quality of life and well-being of thousands of Washington families in the name of religion!
Believer: How come you are allowed to find out whether I signed my name to a petition to get something on a ballot, but you then cannot find out how I voted in the general election? I don’t understand the logic. Once it is determined that a legal voter signed a petition, what right does anyone have to know who you are? Isn’t part of the reason that our votes are unpublished because of the harassment issue?
chefxh: Let us not confuse the secrecy of the ballot, which is in no way threatened – or even involved in this case – with the protection of the public from fraudulent or illegal petition signatures, the legitimacy of which should be provable in order for the signatures to count. You don’t have to sign your name to your ballot, but you have to give your name and address on petitions, and that information has to be legitimate. Just as one must prove oneself registered, and legally, before casting a secret ballot, so should it be before adding one’s political support to a petition for referendum.
Lindy Lou: If everybody paid more attention to their own sex lives (and that is what R-71 is about) instead of poking their curious noses under their neighbor’s tent, we’d all be better off. … I do however try and live my values with my vote and my pocketbook. I’ll be real interested in who supports this attempt to deny civil rights of some of my friends and neighbors. The initiative signatures and the PDC reports will definitely inform my shopping, donating and volunteering decisions.
ericdx: I for one do not want my name released. I signed the initiative. I also voted YES. I did not sign it because I supported the initiative, I signed it because I felt that the issue needed to be revisited, and confirmed by a vote of the public. … The fact is, people want those names to harass others about their choice.