R-71 Backers Turn in an Estimated 138,000 Signatures

The new “everything but marriage” domestic partnership bill is officially on hold until the Secretary of State has chance to count the number of signatures turned in.

The Saturday turn-in at the Capitol means that the new law, Senate Bill 5688, won’t take effect on Sunday as planned, but will be on hold while the signature check is conducted. If certified to the ballot, the measure would remain on hold until the vote is held and certified. If voters rejected the law, it would simply never take effect.

To qualify for the Nov. 3 statewide ballot 120,577 signatures are needed. Crews counted 9,359 petition sheets so each sheet would have to average over 12 signatures per petition not counting invalid signatures. Petitions have room for up to 20 signatures but The Stranger is reporting that some of the petitions had five or less.

The Secretary of State’s office will begin counting petitions and they expect that to take a week or more. However, Shane Hamlin, assistant director for the agency’s Elections Division, “The timeline can vary greatly – it really all hangs on how many signatures the sponsors turned in. The fewer the signatures they submit, the more we have to verify. The verification process could go until the last week of August, which would still allow the counties enough time to prepare their ballots.”