The Secretary of State continues to verify signatures during the referendum 71 qualification process. There is a lot of chatter on blogs and newspapers about whether referendum 71 will qualify, and several people are beginning to jump to the false conclusion that because the data is showing an increasing number of invalid signatures that this fight is nearly over. At this early stage it is not only mathematically inaccurate to draw conclusions based on daily counts, it is politically dangerous.

We should be more focused on telling our story and continuing the conversation about why LGBT families desperately need legal protection.  We need to invite those we know to approve referendum 71 to preserve domestic partnerships.  If we lull ourselves into complacency by believing we are out of the water now we could be caught with our pants down if referendum 71 pulls out ahead at the end of the signature count. It is simply too close to call.

The Secretary of State doubled the shifts so two numbers will come out daily until the predicted completion date of August 17. I expect that twice a day there will be  significant conversation generated about those numbers. Horse races are fun to watch and talk about, but again a year from now the horse race won’t matter.  What will matter is whether the domestic partnership law was preserved and whether our story continues to be told as we move forward.

I also want to address a second conversation trend that is gaining momentum. Some people are beginning to turn their frustration towards the Washington voter with this question: “How could so many people sign this petition in the first place?” When we compare the potential number of signatures with the actual number of voters in Washington State we learn that at least 96% of Washington voters chose to support equality by not signing the petition.  Millions of people did not reach out to sponsors of referendum 71 to help them. This is a significant point that should be celebrated.  We do live in a progressive state so LGBT residents should remain hopeful.

The Approve Referendum 71 campaign is running full steam ahead with preparations for an election this fall.  No one is taking anything for granted. Each side has three observers watching the count to make sure that the count is fair and accurate. Volunteers began to reach out to voters on Wednesday through phone banks. We need lots of volunteers to help out so please sign up if you have not already. You should also consider a donation to help fund the phone banks. They are not cheap so every donation is welcome large and small.

While you are out and about this weekend hanging out with friends and family, remember to tell them to approve referendum 71 to preserve domestic partnerships, and have a conversation with them about why legal recognition is so important. If you have been affected by the domestic partnership law I would love to hear your story in the comments section below.

The Secretary of State announced today that they have a raw count of 137, 689 signatures on the R-71 petition. 120,557 valid signatures are needed to qualify referendum 71 for the ballot.  Historically 18% of signatures are invalid for various reasons.  The cushion for R-71 is 14.2 %, so we are still in the too close to call range. Because the margin is so close, the Secretary of State’s office will conduct a line by line review of the petition and will compare every signature against the voting record.  If a signature does not match the voting record it will be disqualified. If there are duplicate signatures the duplicates will be removed.

Meanwhile confusion about referendum 71 remains rampant as is evident in comments like these on the Seattle PI’s article about the petition. We must begin our campaign now as if Referendum 71 will qualify for the ballot.  We have nothing to lose by educating voters now that we must vote to Approve Referendum 71 to preserve domestic partnerships .  News articles and other local media outlets have not been adequately explaining how referendum 71 will function, so it is our responsibility as concerned citizens to educate our friends, neighbors, and strangers.  Use every resource you have.  Change your signature line in your e-mail account, change your voice mail, download an image to use on social networking sites like twitter and facebook from WAFST, print off a sign and put it in your window at work or home, write a song and sing it on the corner and raise some money for the campaign…. I think you get the idea.