Washington Referendum 74 results by county

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.

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...

Jeff Bezos Jeffrey Preston Bezos ( ;; and Robinson (2010), p. 7. ''né'' Jorgensen; born January 12, 1964) is an American entrepreneur, media proprietor, investor, and commercial astronaut. He is the founder, executive chairman, and former preside ...

and his then-wife pledged $2.5 million to support the same-sex marriage law.

Steve Ballmer Steven Anthony Ballmer (; March 24, 1956) is an American business magnate and investor who served as the chief executive officer of Microsoft from 2000 to 2014. He is the current owner of the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Associ ...

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...

and co-founder

Bill Gates William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American business magnate and philanthropist. He is a co-founder of Microsoft, along with his late childhood friend Paul Allen. During his career at Microsoft, Gates held the positions ...

each donated $100,000 to the campaign in support as well.

Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain. As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 c ...

, Nike, Inc.,

REI Rei or REI may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Rei, a story arc of the anime ''Higurashi When They Cry'' *Rei, a shapeshifting godlike dragon in the Australian webcomic series ''Vainglorious'' *Rei I, II and III, episodes of ''Neon Genesis Eva ...

Alcoa Alcoa Corporation (an acronym for Aluminum Company of America) is a Pittsburgh-based industrial corporation. It is the world's eighth-largest producer of aluminum. Alcoa conducts operations in 10 countries. Alcoa is a major producer of primary ...

Expedia, Inc. Expedia Group, Inc. is an American online travel shopping company for consumer and small business travel. Its websites, which are primarily travel fare aggregators and travel metasearch engines, include Expedia.com, Hotels.com, Vrbo (previousl ...

, T-Mobile,

Nordstrom Nordstrom, Inc. () is an American luxury department store chain headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and founded by John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin in 1901. The original Wallin & Nordstrom store operated exclusively as a shoe store, and ...

, the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, and dozens of other businesses also supported the bill. United States President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

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 ''

Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is a daily newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1891 and has been owned by the Blethen family since 1896. ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Washington st ...

'' also launching an interactive

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

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 ...

'',

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

'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

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

Leaving Seattle City Hall on first day of gay marriage in Washington 2

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

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

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.

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