Citizens in Charge

The names and addresses of those who sign ballot-measure petitions, such as Referendum 71, can be made public, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled today in a decision that upholds the constitutionality of Washington state’s Public Records Act. But that doesn’t mean copies of the Ref. 71 petitions will be immediately available. A lower court will now take up the question of whether those petitions can be disclosed at all, since those who want to keep petition signers’ names secret plan to pursue an exemption from disclosure in their case only.