UPDATE:  Washington’s gay-marriage legislation, Senate Bill 6239, easily cleared the House 55 to 43 Wednesday after 2 1/2 hours of emotional debate. It now heads to  Gov. Chris Gregoire for her signature, probably in a big ceremony next week.

And challengers already are making plans for a ballot challenge.

How would that work? What’s the timeline?  What does the filing of a referendum mean to people who were thinking about a summertime wedding?

Here is a look at how a referendum would work:

Q. When would the legislation ordinarily take effect?
A.  90 days after adjournment of the regular session, or June 7 this year.
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Q. When can a referendum be filed?
A. After Gov. Chris Gregoire has taken action on the bill. She has five working days to act, once the bill is actually delivered to her desk. She has said she will sign the bill, although it is possible she could veto sections or amendments that were attached. The referendum must include the text of the bill as passed by the Legislature and acted upon by the governor.
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Q. How long does it take for a referendum to be processed and ready for signature-gathering?
A. Roughly three weeks.  The measure is sent to the Attorney General’s Office for preparation of a ballot title, concise description and ballot summary.  The AG has five working days to complete this. Within five working days, anyone dissatisfied with the ballot title or summary may petition the Thurston County Superior Court for changes.  The court is required to “expeditiously review” the request(s) and render a decision within five days.  The decision of the court is final. After that, sponsors can print petitions and begin collecting signatures.
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Q. What is the deadline for turning in signatures?
A. June 6.
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Q. How many signatures are required?
A. The bare minimum is 120,577, or 4 percent of all votes cast in the 2008 election for governor.  The state Elections Division suggests turning in 150,000 or more, to cover invalid and duplicate signatures. The average error rate is 18 percent.
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Q. How long does the signature check take?
A. If sponsors submit a large enough pad, a random sample can be completed in about two weeks; a full every-signature check can take a month. Crews will be checking to make sure the signer is a properly registered Washington voter, that the signature matches the one on file, and that the person didn’t sign more than once. Both sides are welcome to have a small number of observers whenever the signature-verification is underway.
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Q. What happens to the gay-marriage law in the meantime?
A. The filing of the signatures suspends the effective date.  If the signature-verification process shows an insufficient number of signatures, then the law goes into effect right away.  If the referendum is qualified for the ballot, then the law remains on hold until the voters make their decision in November and the General Election results are certified on Dec. 6.
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Q. Is there a “window” in which same-sex couples can marry, between the bill being approved by the Legislature and governor and a vote in November?
A. No.
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Q. What is the question posed to voters by the referendum?
A. The referendum places the text of the bill before them. An affirmative vote is to uphold the law as it passed the Legislature and was signed by the governor.  A vote to reject wipes out the measure and it does not take effect.  As with the 2009 vote on Referendum 71, the “everything but marriage” law, the sponsors who mount the effort to get the measure on the ballot will be asking for a “reject” vote on their referendum.  Bottom line: a vote to “approve” upholds the new law, a vote to “reject” abolishes the bill.
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Q. Does the referendum require a simple majority or a supermajority?
A. A referendum takes a simple majority to pass.
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Q. Where can I get more details about the process?
A. The Elections Division has posted this primer.

Q&A on circulating petitions.

Photo courtesy of Washington State Digital Archives

If you created a short list of great photographers from the Pacific Northwest, Asahel Curtis likely would be on it. During his 44-year career that began just before the start of the 20th century, Curtis captured many stunning shots across a wide range of subjects, including downtown Seattle, the mountains and Native tribes.

Many of Curtis’ images are part of an impressive collection found at the State Digital Archives’ Conservation Department, Planning and Development Division. More of Curtis’ work can be seen in the collection at the University of Washington Special Collections and the Washington State Historical Society.  Go here to learn more about the Digital Archives.

One of Curtis’ most beautiful collections is a series of colorized lantern slides.  (One of the slides is of Chelan Canyon, shown above.) The unique collection caught the eye of Rich Remsberg, a researcher who produces an online feature for NPR called “Found In the Archives.” As the name suggests, it showcases interesting archival collections. Here is a link to his recent blog post about the Lantern Slide Show collection.

From Remsberg’s blog post on Curtis and his lantern slides: continue reading

In the Office of the Secretary of State, we’re fond of putting things up to a vote. Two weeks ago we asked what your favorite “Archives treasure” was, and now we’d like to know which “State Library jewel” you find most interesting.

Last week we featured three different “State Library jewels” for January, beginning with a state road map dating back to 1924. We then traveled a little further back in time with the list of motor vehicle owners from 1912, and on Friday we dug up a suffrage leader’s scrapbook.

Now we would like your opinion. Please vote on your favorite library jewel below. The poll will remain open until noon on Friday.

#1  1924 road map

#2 List of motor vehicle owners in 1912

#3 Suffrage leader’s scrapbook

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Early this week, we began our “State Library jewels” blog, created in order to give the State Library a chance to brag about some of the most interesting items that reside along its many shelves and beyond.

The first jewel we presented was a 1924 road map, followed by a list of motor vehicle owners in 1912. Our third piece to be showcased is the scrapbook of Clara Watson Elsom, a leading activist in the Women’s Suffrage Movement.

Inside the scrapbook (on the left) is Elsom’s own collection of newspaper articles, photographs, letters and notes, as well as the obituary of Emma Smith DeVoe, president of the Washington Equal Suffrage Association and state organizer for a women’s voting group called NAWSA.

The scrapbook was assembled in no particular order, but does contain several bits of memorabilia ranging from October 22, 1908, to August 27, 1938.

On Monday we’ll have our online poll up and running so you can vote on your favorite State Library jewel for January.

In July of 2007, Washington lawmakers created the domestic partner registry  within the Office of the Secretary of State. In 2008, the rights and responsibilities of domestic partners were expanded, and in 2009, the “everything but marriage” law was adopted and withstood a referendum challenge.

From 2007 through 2011, 9,659 couples (19,318 individuals) have filed for Domestic Partnership through the Office of Secretary of State’s Corporations and Charities Division.

After the 2007 law was passed 3,159 registrations were filed, for an average of 527 domestic partnerships registering each month in 2007.

Since the original boom of 2007, registrations have ranged between 1,316 and 1,898 annually. The most common age group to file for domestic partnership status are those between the ages of 31-50, followed by older persons, ages 51-61.

The registry is open to both same-sex couples and opposite gender couples with at least one partner age 62 or older.

A total of 382 couples have since filed for dissolution.  Dissolution rates are rather low, averaging at only seven monthly.

In order to qualify for domestic partnership recognition the couple must share a common residence, both persons must be at least 18, neither party may be married to, or in a domestic partnership with another person, both must be capable of consenting to the domestic partnership, the individuals cannot be nearer of kin to each other than second cousins, and either both are of the same sex, or at least one is 62 or older.

A domestic partnership allows for hospital visitation rights, as well as, allowed access to medical information, participation in health care decisions, recognition as a partner on a death certificate, the right to a partner’s estate, and the option to sue for the wrongful death of a partner.

If Marriage Equality legislation passes this session, and is upheld through a planned referendum challenge, same sex marriage will be legal in Washington beginning in December. Existing domestic partnerships, if not converted to marriage at the discretion of the couple, will gain the “marriage” title from the state by June 30, 2014. Domestic partner couples with at least one of the individuals being 62 or older will not be required to marry.

Here is a great chart showing the annual numbers, as of the end of December:

             Image Courtesy of The Secretary of State’s Corporations and Charities Division

Photo courtesy of the State Library

In mid-January we launched our “State Archives treasures” blog series, and now it’s the State Library’s turn to showcase some of their most interesting pieces! Our first “State Library jewels” post featured a road map from 1924; today we travel a little further back in time to 1912 with a book of Washington’s motor vehicle owners.

In 1912, Washington’s motor vehicle owners filed for licensing directly through the Office of the Secretary of State. The Department of Licensing was yet to be created!

There are 10, 449 Vehicle License Allotments available in this book, but the number of Washingtonians with a driver’s license at this time is not provided. Instead, the list displays the name of the owner, their address, a description of the vehicle, and the license plate number. Inside this book, all citizens who, prior to August 15, 1911, had registered with the Secretary of State’s Office for the fiscal year ending May 31, 1912, are listed.

This list was compiled by Secretary of State I.M. Howell.

We recently finished showcasing three special items housed in our State Archives. Now, it’s the State Library’s turn.

Starting this week, we’ll do a monthly feature on three of the many rare, unique or interesting items, maps and collections found in the State Library. After we show them off, you and others can vote in our online poll by choosing the State Library “contestant” you like best. After a few days, we’ll announce the January winner.

The first contestant is this 1924 road map from the State Highway Department. It shows the primary and secondary state highways that were to be completed by 1936. The map indicates there were 1,710 paved miles of highway in Washington, and another 1,400 miles that were gravel. Not a good time to be a windshield!

Long before Interstate 5 was built, the main north-south highway from Bellingham south to Vancouver was Highway 99. On this map, it’s Highway “No. 1.” And yes, there is such a place called “Forest” a few miles south of Chehalis.

This map shows that Highway “No. 2” made it possible to drive from Seattle to Spokane long before I-90 was built. Note that No. 2 generally follows a route from Seattle to Cle Elum that’s similar to where I-90 snakes along today. But then No. 2 heads north toward Leavenworth, providing a precursor to where highways 970 and 97 travel today. From the Leavenworth area, No. 2 basically follows the same path as U.S. Highway 2 currently takes to reach Spokane, except that portions of it are no longer gravel, as it was back then.

If you have an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch and want to look up charities-related information, you’re in luck. There’s an app that you can use to check out registered charitable organizations and commercial fundraisers in Washington. The info is provided by our Charities Division. Go here to learn more or to download the app. We also have apps for Corporations, the State Library’s Ask-WA program and state elections results.

Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed’s office has certified Initiative to the Legislature 502, decriminalizing marijuana and regulating it and taxing it much like liquor.  Sponsors submitted enough signatures to assure consideration by the Legislature and, failing success there, a statewide vote on the General Election ballot.

A signature-check by the State Elections Division, using a random sample, determined that sponsors had nearly 278,000 valid signatures, easily enough to cover the minimum 241,153 required.

The measure was provisionally certified to the Legislature earlier this month while the signature-check was underway, as required by the state Constitution.  That allowed the House and Senate to assign the measure to committee for hearings and any further action.  Neither chamber has announced firm plans for a public hearing.

The Legislature can pass the measure as submitted, reject it and let it go to the ballot this fall, ignore it and let it go the ballot, or let it go to the ballot along with a legislative alternative.  It has been seven years since Initiatives to the Legislature were on the state ballot. I-330 and I-336, both dealing with medical malpractice, were rejected by voters. The last successful Initiative to the Legislature was I-297 in 2004. It dealt with nuclear waste.  On occasion, the Legislature has simply enacted the initiative as submitted, as in the case of creating the presidential primary in 1989. (This year’s presidential primary has been suspended because of the budget crisis.)

Sponsors of the marijuana measure, including former U.S. Attorney John McKay, submitted 354,608 signatures, more than the Elections Division’s recommended 320,000 to cover duplicate and invalid signatures.

The 3 percent random sample of 10,845 showed that 8,774 were valid. The rest were rejected because the names were not found in the database of registered voters, a signature was missing or did not match the one on file, or was a duplicate. Projected to the full number of signatures submitted, the check showed that sponsors had 36,409 more signatures than the bare minimum, and that their error rate was 21.73 percent, somewhat higher than the average error rate of 18 percent.

The votes are in, our online poll is closed, and we know the winner of our January “Archives treasures” contest featuring items in our State Archives:  the Washington territorial seal.

The seal received 38 percent of the vote, edging the boxing license applications submitted by heavyweight greats Muhammad Ali and George Foreman (33 percent) and a photo of the Legislative Building’s construction (29 percent). Thanks to all who voted. We’ll do it again in February and every other month this year.

Now the focus shifts to the State Library. Next week we’ll introduce you to three “contestants” in a similar online poll featuring some of the great collections and other items in the State Library.  Make sure to check it out.