FYI: Washington Families Standing Together, the coalition supporting a newly adopted “everything but marriage” expansion of rights for state-registered domestic partners, has filed a fresh lawsuit in Thurston County Superior Court to try to block a public vote this fall on the new law.

The organization and its chairwoman, Anne Levinson, challenged the validity of over 35,000 voter signatures accepted by the state Elections Division, and asked the court to direct the Secretary of State Sam Reed not to place Referendum 71 on the ballot. Reed, represented by the Attorney General, will ask for an expedited handling of the case, since deadlines are fast approaching for publication of the state Voters’ Pamphlet for over 3 million households, and for preparation of ballots.  The filing had been expected, and state attorneys expect to prevail, given previous court rulings, including two by the state Supreme Court in recent years.

Here is our fresh blog post: http://blogs.secstate.wa.gov/FromOurCorner/index.php/2009/09/r-71-legal-update-challengers-file-new-lawsuit-to-block-vote/#more-3598

Attached are filings we’ve just received from the Attorney General -- the proposed order and the motion for injunctive relief.