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Secretary of State Sam Reed has certified Referendum 71 to the Nov. 3 statewide ballot in Washington state.

State election crews were wrapping up final signature-checks for Referendum 71 Tuesday night, paving the way for Secretary of State Sam Reed to certify the measure to the statewide ballot on Wednesday morning. The referendum is sponsored by foes of the newly adopted "everything but marriage" expansion of state rights for domestic partners who are on the Secretary of State's domestic partner registry created by the Legislature.

There is exciting news coming out of the Washington Talking Book & Braille Library in downtown Seattle: WTBBL just received its first shipment of digital talking book machines. These new machines (DBMs) represent a huge transition for WTBBL and the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, and it marks a major advancement in technology.

As Referendum 71's validation process continues along, the people working at "ground zero" on this closely scrutinized and controversial ballot measure are the signature checkers themselves. Nearly 30 of them are spending long shifts daily at computers in the basement of the Elections Division building, verifying the names, signatures and addresses of those people who signed the petition sheets submitted by R-71 sponsors.