By RACHEL LA CORTE Nov 5, 8:39 PM EST
Associated Press Writer

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Washington voters have approved the state’s new “everything but marriage” law, expanding rights for domestic partners and marking the first time any state’s voters have approved a gay equality measure at the ballot box.

With about 72 percent of the expected vote counted Thursday in unofficial returns, Referendum 71 was leading 52 percent to 48 percent, with a margin of about 60,000 votes.

Sen. Ed Murray, a Seattle Democrat who spearheaded the law, called it “a great step forward for equality in Washington state.”

“I’m relieved,” he said. “I was very concerned that if the voters had said no, it would have been a major setback for gay and lesbian families in Washington state.”

The measure asked voters to approve or reject the latest expansion of the state’s domestic partnership law, granting registered domestic partners additional state rights previously given only to married couples.

In just 6 short weeks the Approve 71 Campaign engaged Washington voters in a conversation that lead to the historic vote to approve Referendum 71 to keep the domestic partnership law, on November 3, 2009.

A coalition of over 500 organizations came together in one of Washington’s shortest elections ever. Over 200 hundred faith based communities stood up for Washington’s lesbian, gay, and senior families. Major employers like Boeing, Microsoft, Starbucks, and Google sent a strong message that they value all their employees.

Washington state voters have approved Referendum 71, keeping a law that expands state benefits for registered same-sex and some senior domestic partners.

The tally late Thursday afternoon saw the vote to approve R-71 leading about 52 percent to 48 percent.

Gays can’t win at the ballot box. That has always been the harsh reality.

While gay-rights activists mourn their loss in Maine, they should not discount the projected victory of Referendum 71 in Washington state. If the measure passes, the Evergreen State will be the first to approve gay equality by direct will of the people, rather than the court or legislature.

Supporters of gay rights were buoyed by first-day returns that showed Referendum 71 leading by a narrow margin Tuesday evening.

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” That’s The Golden Rule. — Chris Farnam, Oak Harbor

Buoyed by big support from King County, voters Tuesday were approving Washington’s new “everything but marriage” law that greatly expands the rights of gay couples.

Washington voters on Tuesday were narrowly approving the state’s new “everything but marriage” law that is a significant expansion of rights for gay couples.

Dear Friend,

It was just September 2nd that Referendum 71 qualified for the ballot.  In that short period of time, supporters like you put in what seems like several lifetimes of work — pledging your vote to approve 71, writing letters to the editor, donating generously and often, phone banking, canvassing, distributing literature, changing your Facebook picture to include the Approve 71 logo, bringing in cookies, answering the phone, changing your voice mail message and email signature, waving signs on overpasses and giving us your encouragement every step of the way.

Because of you, Washington will soon become the first state in the nation to affirmatively vote to support domestic partnership benefits. We will have to patiently wait for final returns as ballots arrive at county elections offices over the next few days. About 50,000 ballots were tabulated in King County’s 4:30 pm count today, leaving just under 300,000 or so for King County still to count based on their projected turnout. For the ballots counted by King County today, Approve was 70%.  Tens of thousands of votes are still remaining to be counted in other counties where Referendum 71 is winning.

These results will be a win not just for the couples and families, but for all Washingtonians who believe in fairness and equality.

Together we built a broad coalition of over 280 non-profit allies, labor unions and associations, 150 members of clergy, and 50 congregations and Faith organizations , small businesses and large employers such as Nike, Starbucks, Google, Microsoft, and Group Health, and newspapers across the state spoke eloquently in support of Referendum 71.

There is simply no way we could have done it without you. To everybody involved with the Approve 71 campaign, a very heartfelt THANK YOU!

The election night Press Release:

For Immediate Release – Nov. 3, 2009

Voters affirming domestic partnerships for gay and lesbian families

Washington may be first state in nation to support domestic partnership by popular vote

SEATTLE – Washington voters today appear to be approving Referendum 71, upholding a state law that provides important legal protections for gays and lesbians and seniors in registered domestic partnerships.

Nearly all of the state’s voters now vote by mail and ballots only need to be postmarked by Election Day, not counted by Election Day, so many ballots won’t actually be counted until Wednesday or Thursday. In King County, where ‘Approve’ is winning by a two-to-one margin, fewer than half the ballots have been counted, and the campaign estimates that the ballots that remain to be counted in King County will account for over 30 percent of the votes remaining to be counted statewide.

“Based on the results we saw tonight, we will be making history in moving forward toward full equality for gay and lesbian Washingtonians and their families,” said Anne Levinson, Chair of the Approve 71 campaign. “Voters across the state listened to the personal stories of gay and lesbian families, and the challenges they face, and, based on the returns so far, they are sending a resounding message – we want to see all families treated equally under the law.”

“We believe the end result of this election will be a win not just for the couples and families, but for all Washingtonians who believe in values of fairness and equality,” Levinson continued. “It was profoundly wrong for some to try to eliminate the rights of others.”

“We are all harmed when any of us is treated differently under the law. We hope this puts an end to the divisive and mean spirited attacks by extremist groups against gay and lesbian Washingtonians and that we can all work together on the real problems confronting all families – gay and non-gay alike.”

The Approve 71 campaign was supported by a broad statewide coalition and received more than 500 endorsements, including faith-based groups and organizations representing communities of color, seniors, education, health care and public safety; clergy of many denominations; labor; large employers such as Microsoft, Google, Starbucks, Boeing; small businesses; civic groups, organizations that care for families, immigrant populations and children, who all took a stand in support of their friends, neighbors and co-workers.

“This was one of the shortest statewide ballot campaigns in Washington. We had only weeks between certification and the first ballots going out. If these trends continue, this will be only the sixth referendum approved in the history of our state,” said Josh Friedes, Approve 71 Campaign Manager.  “To have these kinds of numbers in an off-year election where those who vote tend to be older and more conservative is a real testament to the broad support for Washington’s gay and lesbian families.”

Friedes and Levinson both noted that because of Referendum 71 – which Protect Marriage Washington, the Family Policy Institute, the National Organization for Marriage and others fought to force on the ballot –Washingtonians now have a greater understanding of the challenges faced by gay and lesbian families and the legal protections they lacked.

“Were it not for the referendum, the law would have just quietly gone into effect in July. By forcing the referendum, those groups have likely done quite a lot to advance the cause of full equality for lesbian and gay families in Washington state,” Levinson said.

# # #

Contact:

Sue Evans

media@approve71.org

Josh Friedes

media@approve71.org

Patient care is the heart of Group Health. We are committed to providing our members with high quality, safe care that is easy to access and affordable.

We are proud of our national reputation as a pioneer in evidence-based medicine, using information technology to improve care, applying research to clinical practice, and defining the ideal model for delivering care for patients with chronic diseases.

Voters have been sending in their ballots at a much slower rate than forecast, as King County wraps up its first vote-by-mail general election today.

Today is Election Day — the last day voters can cast ballots that were mailed to them on Oct. 14.

No victor in today’s Clark County election is likely to be named among Bill O’Reilly’s “Pinheads and Patriots” or excoriated by Keith Olbermann as the “Worst Person in the World.”

Election Day arrives in Jefferson County and across the state today, ending nearly three weeks of balloting in the all-mail election. The county returned a total of 10,543 ballots as of Monday, the county Auditor’s Office reported.

It’s Election Day in Washington and Idaho. Although the 2009 elections may not have as many momentous decisions as last year, voters are being asked to decide a range of local races and issues.

Tuesday is Election Day in Washington and Idaho.

The Korean American Bar Association of Washington (“KABA”) endorses Referendum 71 as supported by Washington Families Standing Together (“WAFST”). In doing so, KABA supports extending equal civil rights to domestic partners. KABA stands by its members that identify with the GLBT community and encourages all KABA members to seek equal rights and fair treatment for all citizens.

Years ago, an early winter storm could doom the turnout on an election day. Faced with blustery winds and drifting snow, prospective voters would often surrender to the elements and forego the arduous task of getting to the polling booths on time.

Ballots are due Tuesday in a general election that includes two ballot measures, rare off-year state representative races in the 9th and 16th legislative districts, as well as nonpartisan races for city councils, school boards, port commissions and other local bodies.

Voters should always take care when making their election picks, but some parts of the ballot deserve more attention than others this year.

With every birthday comes new privileges and opportunities. When we’re counting down the last few days to our birthday, we’re usually looking forward to something exciting. It could be just a small gathering of friends, a newly legal pub crawl, or, at the age of 18, the ability to buy lottery tickets and porn and register to vote.

Re: “Don’t be swayed by guilt trip arguments” (letter, 10-9). The writer dresses down gay and lesbianism as though it is a fashion statement, as if someone can discard the core of whom they are as easily as they drop their shirt in the secondhand collection bin. — David Bates, Tacoma

Washington state posted a record 85 percent voter turnout last year, thanks to intense interest in the heated Obama-McCain presidential race as well as the repeat Gregoire-Rossi gubernatorial contest. No such star-caliber showdowns are at stake this year – and similar voter traffic is not expected.

For the Approve 71 campaign, the largest donation of $100,000 came from Microsoft but the average contribution is less than $250, spokesman Josh Friedes said. That’s because more than 5,000 individuals have donated, he said. …For those urging voters to reject the referendum, fundraising from individuals has been difficult.

As I ponder the reactions of the opposition to Referendum 71, I recollect the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as he was writing from jail in Birmingham. — Josette Parker, Lakewood

On the ballot: Statewide votes on domestic partnership expansion and government growth limits, dozens of races for county, city, school district and other offices.

During the past few weeks, the editorial board for the Yakima Herald-Republic has provided its opinion on a number of races for public office, a countywide criminal justice sales tax and two statewide measures. Here’s a rundown on those endorsements, with excerpts from our editorials, which might prove helpful to voters who have yet to cast their ballots for Tuesday’s election.

Last Sunday we concluded our annual political endorsements in this space. Tuesday night we’ll see how the races settle out with the voters.

Today, The Olympian’s editorial board provides a summary of endorsements for Tuesday’s general election. During the last month, The Olympian has offered recommendations on two statewide ballot propositions and contested port, county, city and school board races.

The Seattle Times has been interviewing candidates and proponents and opponents of ballot measures for several months. We offer our recommendations in key races.