Supreme Court sets date for Referendum 71 arguments

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments April 28 on whether identities of those who sign voter initiatives should be made public.

This case before the high court comes out of Washington and centers on the handling of roughly 138,000 signatures on petitions that put Referendum 71 on the November 2009 ballot.

Protect Marriage Washington, the Arlington-based coalition which gathered the signatures, has succeeded thus far in keeping the names from being released. Attorneys for the state hope to convince the nation’s high court that the petitions should be treated as public records subject to disclosure.

Here’s the court’s synopsis.

Attorney James Bopp Jr. is likely to argue the case for Protect Marriage Washington with Attorney General Rob McKenna doing so for Washington.

Secretary of State Sam Reed said in a statement: “We believe that we can have disclosure and openness, as well as protect our precious First Amendment rights and promote full participation in the initiative process and voting. I am convinced that we can have robust – and civil — discussions as we debate these ballot issues.”

In the meantime, Monday night the state Senate passed a bill making signatures on initiative and referendum petitions public records subject to disclosure.