I just got off the phone with Josh Friedes, the campaign manager of Approve Referendum 71, the campaign to protect the domestic partnership law in Washington State. I previously wrote about the campaign and what was at stake here, for a little background. Rights that would be stripped away from LGBT couples include using sick leave to care for a partner, unemployment and disability benefits, adoption rights, and more.
Approve Referendum 71 is releasing an internal poll by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner tomorrow showing 51% approve, 44% reject. This is great news for our side- I had been hearing from a few places that the numbers in Washington State looked bad, and that the state's fight would be overlooked this year.
The key here, though, is as much the turnout as the numbers. Josh told me:
The problem isn't that there isn't support for the domestic partnership law- the problem is that as much as half of the electorate doesn't vote in a Washington State off-year election. Those people most likely not to vote are younger, more liberal voters. The key here is voter turnout of our base. Washington is only one of very few states to have referenda in the off-year. People need to explain to their family and friends the importance of approving Referendum 71, but also the importance of an off-year election.
If you know anyone in Washington, take 5 minutes and ask them to vote to APPROVE Referendum 71. The campaign has an easy tool to do so. Washington State is a vote by mail state in 38/39 counties, so we have to get our ballots in. Ballots should be in mailboxes around Oct. 16th.
