Democrats in Illinois are working to keep this divisive issue off of our ballot.
I am pleased to see something like this here in Illinois - are similar things being done in other states? If not - step up!
A chance to make a difference - take a few hours and volunteer if you are in Illinois or donate at http://www.fairillinois.org
From the Chicago Free Press:
http://www.chicagofreepress.com/...
It's a daunting undertaking: determining the validity of 345,000 petition signatures submitted by the Christian right.
And it's an expensive undertaking: merely obtaining copies of the 65,000 pages of petitions cost $15,000, and other major expenses include legal fees and a truckload of computer equipment.
...
But organizers of Fair Illinois, the group formed to review the signatures, say their objective of keeping the referendum off the ballot is well within reach. As a rule, about 70 percent of the signatures filed on voter petitions are legitimate. The rest are invalid for various reasons--they are duplicates, for instance, or the signers aren't registered to vote or list incorrect addresses.
Protect Illinois, the group that filed the petitions, needs 283,111 signatures to qualify. If 70 percent of the signatures they filed are approved, that would leave them short of the mark, with 241,500 legitimate names.
So far, volunteers are finding a rate of accuracy that is far below 70 percent. "If 40 percent of these names are valid, I'd be surprised," said Rick Garcia, political director of Equality Illinois. His organization joined forces with Lambda Legal and the ACLU to create Fair Illinois.
From the Fair Illinois site
http://www.fairillinois.org
THE BAD NEWS:
On Monday, May 8, 2006, the Protect Marriage Illinois turned in an estimated 345,199 signatures to put an advisory referendum on the November ballot to ban gay marriage in the Illinois Constitution - and to outlaw any kind of domestic partnership. Their leader called gay and lesbian families "an infection."
THE GOOD NEWS:
Fair Illinois, a group of concerned citizens coming together for fairness, believes that many of the signatures submitted are invalid under Illinois law. Fair Illinois is organizing to uphold Illinois election law, challenge invalid and false signatures and protect gay and lesbian families around the state.
We need to stop this mean spirited attack on our families. Each of the 345,199 signatures must be checked for validity and compliance with Illinois elections law. Experts tell us that our chances are good, IF we have your help, your time and your money.
WHERE TO FIND US
Fair Illinois
Volunteer Office
3342 N. Halsted, Unit 3
Chicago
Phone:
773-724-0071
Email:
Volunteer@fairillinois.org
UPDATED VOLUNTEER INFORMATION HERE:
http://fairillinois.org/...