Referendum 71 in Washington State, which I had been working a little bit, was called last night by the AP for the Yes side (i.e. the good guys won) with 52.05% of the vote (county-by-county results are here). Josh Friedes, the campaign manager, told me the numbers are actually expected to increase, as about half of the 500-600K ballots still left (WA is, with the exception of one county, a vote by mail state) are from King County, where the LGBT community and more progressive voters are concentrated. We have 67% in that county so far.
LGBT couples will retain adoption rights, the ability to use sick leave to care for one's partner, and a number of other important rights. Congrats to them and to the Referendum 71 campaign. Congrats to Josh and the rest of the folks on that campaign for a job well-done in what was essentially an eight-week lightning-speed campaign.
I neglected to mention the other LGBT issue that we won with an astounding 65% of the vote, which was the One Kalamazoo campaign to protect the ordinance twice-passed by the city commission to ban discimination on the basis of sexual orientation in employment, housing and public accomodations. We wanted a Yes vote, and the other side used slimy tactics like door-hangers that said "No to Discrimination!" to muddle the issue and TV ads with gay men stalking little girls in the bathroom. Perhaps the latter turned voters off in the end. Also a campaign well-run.
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