On September 9, opponents of Washington state’s referendum #71 said they will not appeal the lower state court decision in Washington Families Standing Together v Reed. That decision had said signatures are valid, even if the signers were not registered at the time they signed the petition. The signatures count as long as the person who signed registers before the Secretary of State’s office checks the petitions.

The decision also said that signatures are valid, even if the circulator didn’t sign off on any particular petition sheet. The decision is thus an important liberalization of Washington state’s procedures on petition validity. The contrast between this recent Washington decision, and the Oregon Supreme Court’s decision in 2004 on Nader’s independent petition, is dramatic. The Oregon Supreme Court had invalidated Nader’s petition because some of the circulators had signed some sheets with their initials instead of their full name.