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Filed under: Referendum 74
Washington United for Marriage reports that the state has approved marriage equality
By Scottie Thomaston
Washington United for Marriage, the campaign to approve Referendum 74 in favor of marriage equality in Washington, is declaring victory. This makes the equality side four for four in ballot initiatives, as Maryland, Maine, and Minnesota have already been called. The campaign says that 60% of the vote has been counted in the vote-by-mail state, and it ran the numbers, and the result is a “clear win” for equality.
As of now, only the campaign has announced victory – there has not been a final call made as of this writing. But with such a steep climb for the anti-equality side and a shrinking number of votes, it seems unlikely it would change.
The campaign says:
After crunching numbers throughout the night, Washington United for Marriage (WUM), the broad coalition which built an historic statewide campaign, from a record-setting donor base to an unprecedented GOTV effort, all to defend the freedom to marry, today announced that Referendum 74 will be approved by voters.“This is a clear win,” said WUM campaign manager Zach Silk. “We have run the numbers every which way, and we can now confidently say that we have won. This is an historic day for Washington, an historic day for our country and, most of all, for families across the state who have dreamed of this day and the wedding celebrations to come.”
With 60 percent of the vote counted, R74 already has the support of 65% of King County and is performing well in key Eastern Washington counties. Simply put, it’s now impossible for opponents to overcome the 52-48% spread for R74.
WUM built on a broad legislative effort that led to passage of the bipartisan marriage law in February. Nonetheless, essentially starting from scratch in June, the campaign built a $12.3 war chest with over 27,000 donors, 80% of whom hailed from the Evergreen State. The most common donation? Twenty-five-dollars, given over and over again.
Ten-thousand, three-hour volunteer shifts for a total of 30,000 hours in direct voter outreach. Just in the last week, 100,000 doors were knocked and nearly 200,000 phone calls were logged on Monday and Tuesday.
“We made history in so many ways,” said Silk. “Our volunteers were engaged, fired up and delivered. There has never been a ballot campaign in Washington that had this kind of breath and depth, from field to fundraising. We have much to celebrate and much to be proud of. With so much at stake, we challenged ourselves to do big things, and it made all the difference.”
The law takes effect December 6, 2012.
35 Comments November 7, 2012
UPDATED: President Obama endorses marriage equality ballot measures in Washington, Maine and Maryland
By Scottie Thomaston and Jacob Combs
Updated as of 6:00 pm Eastern to reflect Maine endorsement and 8:05 Eastern to reflect Maryland endorsement
The Obama campaign made a flurry of announcements today pertaining to the four marriage equality ballot measures that will appear on the November ballot, formally endorsing Referendum 74 in Washington, Question 1 in Maine and Question 6 in Maryland, all of which would grant equal marriage rights to same-sex couples. The campaign had already spoken out in April against Minnesota’s Marriage Amendment, which would amend the state’s constitution to forbid marriage equality.
In Washington, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported the following statement today from Paul Bell, the Washington Press Secretary for Obama for America:
“While the president does not weigh in on every single ballot measure in every state, the president believes in treating everyone fairly and equally, with dignity and respect. Washington’s same-sex marriage law would treat all Washington couples equally, and that is why the President supports a vote to approve Referendum 74.”
That statement matched one noted in the Portland Press Herald and made by Michael Czin, OFA’s Northeast regional press secretary, which began with the same language and then went on to read, “The president believes same-sex couples should be treated equally and supports Question 1.” Tonight, via email, Maryland’s marriage equality campaign also announced the president’s endorsement with the following quote from Obama campaign spokesman Frank Benenati: “Maryland’s same-sex marriage law would treat all Maryland couples equally, and that is why the president supports Question 6.”
In April, Metro Weekly covered the following statement made by the campaign regarding the Minnesota Marriage Amendment by OFA Minnesota Communications Director Kristin Sosanie:
“[T]he Minnesota ballot initiative … would single out and discriminate against committed gay and lesbian couples — and that’s why the President does not support it.”
President Obama has weighed in before against efforts to ban marriage equality, most recently in North Carolina against Amendment 1. And earlier this year, of course, he announced his personal support for the right of same-sex couples to marry. But today’s announcements marks the first time he has announced support for an initiative to approve marriage equality.
Washington United for Marriage’s campaign manager, Zach Silk, issued the following statement today regarding the president’s endorsement:
“President Obama support for marriage reflects what’s happening in WA and across the country. As more people, and more voters, realize that only marriage fully protects and supports families, they move towards supporting marriage for same-sex couples and approving Referendum 74. “We’re now in the home stretch, mobilizing thousands of volunteers with the largest ground game in Washington ballot history. We feel momentum is on our side, and having the President weigh in on approving Referendum 74 puts an extra gust of wind in our sails.”
These announcements by the Obama campaign demonstrate the President’s confidence that marriage equality is a winning issue for him and for Democrats, even in a close presidential race. That alone is a sign of great progress and a mark of just how significantly the politics surrounding marriage equality has shifted.
What you can do to pass marriage equality in Washington:
1. Contribute to the campaign to approve marriage equality in Washington, via ActBlue.
2. Volunteer to make calls to voters in Washington.
3. Sign up to travel to Washington and help get out the vote! Courage Campaign is arranging out-of-state caravans and travel assistance is available.
16 Comments October 25, 2012
Washington state marriage equality round-up
By Scottie Thomaston
- As we reported, the anti-gay campaign in Washington state is out with a new misleading ad, relying on two stories that have been previously debunked, to convince viewers that if the marriage equality law passes they will lose their religious liberties.
- Jacob called attention to some news from Washington:
In Washington, Bill and Melinda Gates announced that they were donating an incredible $500,000 to Washington United for Marriage, the group responsible for the campaign to approve Referendum 74. That money comes on top of another $100,000 gift that the Gates couple gave to the campaign earlier this year. Washington United has raised almost $11 million for its campaign, compared to around $2 million for the anti-marriage equality group Preserve Marriage Washington. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg also announced this week that he would donate $500,000 to marriage equality efforts, splitting the money between the campaigns in Washington, Maine and Minnesota. (He contributed $250,000 earlier this year to Maryland’s effort.)
A University of Washington poll last week found 54 percent of likely voters in Washington support Referendum 74, with 38 percent opposed and 6 percent undecided. Interestingly, the poll also included a third prediction, based on the respondents’ answers to questions about whether they had lied on the survey or if its questions made them uncomfortable, in order to gauge whether the poll’s numbers were over-representing support. That weighted prediction found a closer split, with 53 percent support and 47 percent opposition. In 2009, when Washington voted on a domestic partnership law, polling showed much greater support for the measure than the eventual margin by which it passed.
- The marriage equality campaign in Washington state is out with a new ad highlighting the fact that civil unions or domestic partnerships don’t provide the safety and stability of a marriage. The ad is here:
The ad says:
Angie: Cynthia and I thought our domestic partnership would guarantee that we would be there for one another.Cynthia: If God forbid one of us was seriously ill.
Angie: And then our worst nightmare happened. I was in surgery and there were complications.
Cynthia: The nurse refused to tell me what was happening and how serious things had gotten.
Angie: Just because we weren’t married.
Cynthia: Only marriage guarantees that all couples can be there for each other when it really matters.
What you can do to pass marriage equality in Washington:
1. Contribute to the campaign to approve marriage equality in Washington, via ActBlue.
2. Volunteer to make calls to voters in Washington.
3. Sign up to travel to Washington and help get out the vote! Courage Campaign is arranging out-of-state caravans and travel assistance is available.
10 Comments October 24, 2012
