Referendum 74
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Referendum 74 (R-74 or Ref 74) was a
Washington state Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...
referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
to approve or reject the February 2012 bill that would legalize same-sex marriage in the state. On June 12, 2012, state officials announced that enough signatures in favor of the referendum had been submitted and scheduled the referendum to appear on the ballot in the November 6 general election. The law was upheld by voters in the November 6, 2012 election by a final margin of 7.4% (53.7% approve, 46.3% reject) and the result was certified on December 5.


Ballot measure

The ballot title read as follows: The following summary accompanied the ballot measure:


History

Title 26 of the Revised Code of Washington, entitled "domestic relations", governs marriage in Washington state. A 2012 bill, Senate Bill 6239, would legalize same-sex marriage and convert into a marriage on June 30, 2014, any undissolved state registered domestic partnership that does not involve at least one party aged 62 years or older. It also would add language in Section 26.04.010 exempting religious organizations from any requirement to "provide accommodations, facilities, advantages, privileges, services, or goods related to the solemnization or celebration of a marriage". Governor Christine Gregoire signed the engrossed bill on February 13. The bill was scheduled to take effect June 7 – 90 days after the legislative session — but opponents submitted on June 6 the necessary signatures to suspend the bill and require a statewide voter referendum. On June 12, the
Washington secretary of state The secretary of state of Washington is an independently elected constitutional officer in the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of Washington. Fifteen individuals have held the office of Secretary of State since statehood. The ...
announced that they had submitted enough signatures to place the referendum on the ballot for the November general election.


Support and opposition

Statements for and against the bill are available online as part of the official online voter's guide for the referendum. Per Section 42.17A on "campaign disclosure and contribution", the Washington state Public Disclosure Commission posted campaign information online, including information for referendums and initiatives, showing seven groups registered for approval of the bill and one against. Of these, Washington United for Marriage (WUM) and Preserve Marriage Washington were the most active, for and against the bill, respectively. WUM lists "a coalition of more than 500 organizations and businesses" on its website.
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's
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and his then-wife pledged $2.5 million to support the same-sex marriage law.
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of
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and co-founder
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each donated $100,000 to the campaign in support as well.
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, Nike, Inc.,
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,
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,
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, T-Mobile,
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, the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, and dozens of other businesses also supported the bill. United States President
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encouraged support as well. Opposition to the bill was coordinated largely by the
National Organization for Marriage The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) is an American non-profit political organization established to work against the legalization of same-sex marriage in the United States. It was formed in 2007 specifically to pass California Proposit ...
(NOM) and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle, which encouraged support for rejecting the bill among all parishes. Parishes planned "in-pew donations as part of what it is calling Preserve Marriage month" and NOM was expected to bring in additional money from outside the state. Several newspapers in Washington state supported the bill, with the ''
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'' also launching an interactive
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campaign to encourage readers to support the bill publicly. Other endorsements included the '' Tacoma News-Tribune'', Spokane's ''
The Spokesman-Review ''The Spokesman-Review'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Spokane, Washington, the city's sole remaining daily publication. It has the third-highest readership among daily newspapers in the state, with most of its readership base in ...
'',
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's '' The Columbian'', ''
Yakima Herald-Republic The ''Yakima Herald-Republic'' is a newspaper published in Yakima, Washington, and distributed throughout Yakima, Kittitas and Klickitat counties as well as northwest Benton County. It is Washington state's seventh-largest daily newspaper. The ne ...
'', '' Tri-City Herald'', Everett's '' The Herald'', '' The Olympian'', '' The Wenatchee World'', and the ''
Walla Walla Union-Bulletin The ''Walla Walla Union-Bulletin'' (U-B) is a newspaper based in Walla Walla, Washington and owned by the Seattle Times Company. It publishes daily except Saturdays. History The modern ''Union-Bulletin'' can trace its origins to the ''Washingto ...
''.


Campaign fundraising

Referendum 74 generated a large number of individual donations which may have surpassed the 2008 record of 13,500 for the Washington Death with Dignity Act. As of July 3, 2012, Referendum 74 sponsor Preserve Marriage Washington (seeking "rejection" votes) had reportedly raised $132,000, while Washington United for Marriage (seeking "approval" votes) raised $1.9 million. As of August, campaign-financing proponents showed a 13-to-1 fundraising advantage for same-sex marriage, but a
National Organization for Marriage The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) is an American non-profit political organization established to work against the legalization of same-sex marriage in the United States. It was formed in 2007 specifically to pass California Proposit ...
campaign director was confident that $4 million would appear as needed. A Public Disclosure Commission complaint has been filed, accusing both Preserve Marriage Washington and the National Organization for Marriage of having failed to report donations as required by law. As of October 5, 2012, proponents of Referendum 74
Washington United for Marriage Washington United for Marriage was a coalition of secular and religious organizations in Washington State involved in lobbying the State Legislature to provide marriage for same-sex couples. The organization was founded in 2011, and formed to s ...
have raised $9.4 million in donations and opponents Preserve Marriage Washington have raised about $1 million.


Opinion polls

Various public opinion surveys of Washington residents asked questions regarding same-sex marriage. The questions vary, with some surveys referring directly to Referendum 74 and others asking more general questions. A post-election poll indicated much stronger support for such marriage among women than men across several categories.


Results


County breakdown

Upon certification, Secretary of State Sam Reed partially credited the referendum for encouraging voter turnout of 81%, the highest in the nation. County offices in
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and Thurston counties opened at 12:01 a.m. after the measure was certified, with celebrations in support outside of several government offices, with various same-sex weddings scheduled, free of charge, beginning just after midnight on December 9, just after the mandatory three-day waiting period applying to all Washington weddings.


See also

*'' Andersen v. King County'' *
Domestic partnership in Washington state State Registered Domestic Partnerships (SRDP) in Washington were created in 2007 following the ''Andersen v. King County'' decision. Subsequent legislation has made an SRDP the equivalent of marriage under state law. As a result of the legalization ...
*
LGBT rights in Washington (state) Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in the U.S. state of Washington have evolved significantly since the late 20th century. Same-sex sexual activity was legalized in 1976. LGBT people are fully protected from discrimination in t ...
*
Minnesota Amendment 1 Minnesota Amendment 1 (also called Minnesota Marriage Amendment or Minnesota Gay Marriage Amendment) was a legislatively referred constitutional amendment proposed to ban marriage between same-sex couples in the state of Minnesota, that appeared ...
*
Same-sex marriage in Washington state Same-sex marriage in Washington has been legally recognized since December 6, 2012. On February 13, 2012, Governor Christine Gregoire signed legislation that established full marriage rights for same-sex couples in the state of Washington. Oppo ...
*
Washington Referendum 71 (2009) The 2009 Washington Referendum 71 (R-71) legalized domestic partnership in Washington state, the first statewide referendum in the United States that extended to LGBT people the rights and responsibility of domestic partnership. The bill had pa ...


Other same-sex marriage referendums

* Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey, 2017 *
2016 Bermudian same-sex union and marriage referendum A non-binding referendum on same-sex marriage was held in Bermuda on 23 June 2016.2013 Croatian constitutional referendum A constitutional referendum was held in Croatia on 1 December 2013. The proposed amendment to the constitution would define marriage as being a union between a man and a woman, which would create a constitutional prohibition against same-sex mar ...
* Irish same-sex marriage referendum, 2015 *
2015 Slovak same-sex marriage referendum A referendum on banning same-sex marriage was held in Slovakia on 7 February 2015. Critics claimed the referendum was pushed by religious and conservative organisations, aiming to block gay couples from gaining more rights. The referendum was n ...
*
2015 Slovenian same-sex marriage referendum A referendum on a Recognition of same-sex unions in Slovenia, bill legalising same-sex marriage was held in Slovenia on 20 December 2015. The bill was rejected, as a majority of voters voted against and the votes against were more than 20% of regi ...
* United States: **
2008 California Proposition 8 Proposition 8, known informally as Prop 8, was a California ballot proposition and a state constitutional amendment intended to ban same-sex marriage; it passed in the November 2008 California state elections and was later overturned in cour ...
** Maine: ***
2009 Maine same-sex marriage referendum Maine Question 1 was a voter referendum conducted in Maine in the United States in 2009 that rejected a law legalizing same-sex marriage in the state. The measure passed 53–47% on November 3, 2009. The outcome of the referendum was reversed ...
***
2012 Maine same-sex marriage referendum Maine Question 1 was a voter referendum on an initiated state statute that occurred on November 6, 2012. The referendum was held to determine whether or not to legalize same-sex marriage. The referendum passed with a 53-47% vote legalizing same-se ...
**
2012 Maryland same-sex marriage referendum Question 6 (colloquially called the Maryland same-sex marriage referendum) is a referendum that appeared on the general election ballot for the U.S. state of Maryland to allow voters to approve or reject the Civil Marriage Protection Act—a bi ...
** 2012 Washington same-sex marriage referendum


References


External links


Preserve Marriage Washington to reject "redefining marriage"

Washington United for Marriage to approve "marriage equality"


{{Same-sex marriage in the United States Washington (state) law LGBT in Washington (state) LGBT law in the United States 2012 Washington (state) ballot measures 2012 in LGBT history Same-sex marriage ballot measures in the United States