Doe v. Reed
Encyclopedia
Doe v. Reed, 561 U.S. (2010), is a United States Supreme Court
case which holds that the disclosure of signatures on a referendum does not violate the First Amendment to the United States Constitution
.
contains provisions for a referendum
system whereby citizens resident in the state may challenge state law. For a challenge to be added to the ballot
, a petition must be submitted to the Secretary of State of Washington
containing the signatures of registered voters equivalent to 4% of those who voted in the last gubernatorial election
. For a signature to be considered valid, the signor must not only be a registered voter but also provide his address as well as the county in which he was registered to vote.
Following a proposed bill to extend the rights afforded to those in domestic partnerships (so that they would be looked upon by the law as if they were married) in Washington, Protect Marriage Washington, an anti-gay marriage group, led a campaign to have the proposal brought forth as a referendum. This effort succeeded, however the referendum narrowly came out in favour of the bill to expand the rights afforded to those in a domestic partnership. Subsequent to this, a number of individuals requested the signature lists used to bring the question to referendum, as these were historically considered matters of public record relating to the passage of legislation. Protect Marriage Washington filed to block the release of these signatures "due to the highly charged nature of the topic." The issue was moved to the Supreme Court when Anthony Kennedy issued a temporary injunction barring the release of the signatures on October 19, 2009. The arguments were heard on April 28, 2010, with the June 24, 2010 decision seeing the constitutionality of the Public Records Act under which the request for signatures had been made in an 8-1 decision, with Thomas dissenting.
dissenting, that the law in Washington state allowing for public disclosure of petition signatures for ballot initiatives was not an infringement on First Amendment rights because citizens, in signing the petition, were exercising their right to legislate, a process which is generally not protected by secrecy.
Justice Antonin Scalia
, in a separate concurring opinion, disagreed with the last assertion, believing that any citizen who exercises his/her right to legislate cannot be protected by anonymity under any condition. "Requiring people to stand up in public for their political acts fosters civic courage, without which democracy is doomed. For my part, I do not look forward to a society which, thanks to the Supreme Court, campaigns anonymously and even exercises the direct democracy of initiative and referendum hidden from public scrutiny and protected from the accountability of criticism."
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
case which holds that the disclosure of signatures on a referendum does not violate the First Amendment to the United States Constitution
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...
.
Background
The Washington State ConstitutionWashington State Constitution
The Constitution of the State of Washington is the document that describes the structure and function of the government of the U.S. State of Washington...
contains provisions for a referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
system whereby citizens resident in the state may challenge state law. For a challenge to be added to the ballot
Ballot
A ballot is a device used to record choices made by voters. Each voter uses one ballot, and ballots are not shared. In the simplest elections, a ballot may be a simple scrap of paper on which each voter writes in the name of a candidate, but governmental elections use pre-printed to protect the...
, a petition must be submitted to the Secretary of State of Washington
Secretary of State of Washington
The Secretary of State of Washington is one of the elected constitutional officers of the U.S. state of Washington. The duties of the office are specified in Article III, Section 17 of the Washington State Constitution and Chapter 43.07 of the Revised Code of Washington...
containing the signatures of registered voters equivalent to 4% of those who voted in the last gubernatorial election
Washington gubernatorial election, 2008
The gubernatorial election in Washington, 2008 elected the Governor of Washington on November 4, 2008. With the emergence from the August 19 primary of Republican Dino Rossi and incumbent Democratic Governor Christine Gregoire, the 2008 election was a rematch between the candidates from the 2004...
. For a signature to be considered valid, the signor must not only be a registered voter but also provide his address as well as the county in which he was registered to vote.
Following a proposed bill to extend the rights afforded to those in domestic partnerships (so that they would be looked upon by the law as if they were married) in Washington, Protect Marriage Washington, an anti-gay marriage group, led a campaign to have the proposal brought forth as a referendum. This effort succeeded, however the referendum narrowly came out in favour of the bill to expand the rights afforded to those in a domestic partnership. Subsequent to this, a number of individuals requested the signature lists used to bring the question to referendum, as these were historically considered matters of public record relating to the passage of legislation. Protect Marriage Washington filed to block the release of these signatures "due to the highly charged nature of the topic." The issue was moved to the Supreme Court when Anthony Kennedy issued a temporary injunction barring the release of the signatures on October 19, 2009. The arguments were heard on April 28, 2010, with the June 24, 2010 decision seeing the constitutionality of the Public Records Act under which the request for signatures had been made in an 8-1 decision, with Thomas dissenting.
Opinion
The court found, with only Clarence ThomasClarence Thomas
Clarence Thomas is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Succeeding Thurgood Marshall, Thomas is the second African American to serve on the Court....
dissenting, that the law in Washington state allowing for public disclosure of petition signatures for ballot initiatives was not an infringement on First Amendment rights because citizens, in signing the petition, were exercising their right to legislate, a process which is generally not protected by secrecy.
Justice Antonin Scalia
Antonin Scalia
Antonin Gregory Scalia is an American jurist who serves as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. As the longest-serving justice on the Court, Scalia is the Senior Associate Justice...
, in a separate concurring opinion, disagreed with the last assertion, believing that any citizen who exercises his/her right to legislate cannot be protected by anonymity under any condition. "Requiring people to stand up in public for their political acts fosters civic courage, without which democracy is doomed. For my part, I do not look forward to a society which, thanks to the Supreme Court, campaigns anonymously and even exercises the direct democracy of initiative and referendum hidden from public scrutiny and protected from the accountability of criticism."
Related Cases
- NAACP v. AlabamaNAACP v. AlabamaNational Association for the Advancement of Colored People v. Alabama, 357 U.S. 449 , was an important civil rights case brought before the United States Supreme Court....
- Brown v. Socialist Workers ’74 Campaign Committee
- McIntyre v. Ohio Elections CommissionMcIntyre v. Ohio Elections CommissionMcIntyre v. Ohio Elections Commission, 514 U.S. 334 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that an Ohio statute that prohibits anonymous political or campaign literature is unconstitutional...
- List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 561
External links
- Who is Publius? or, Who's Afraid of Anonymous Political Speech?, Reason.com (10-18-2010)