This just in from David Crowe, who’s hinting that his group will be suing the state over tossed out signatures in their domestic partnership referendum effort:

Victoria Larson, KPAM 860 Talk Show Host will interview Alliance Defense Fund Attorney Austin Nimocks at 7 PM this evening regarding the Oregon Elections Division refusal to recognize legitimate signatures on a petition to place the so called ‘domestic partnerships’ bill before Oregon Voters.

Nimocks, one of two Alliance Defense Fund attorneys who reviewed rejected Petition 303 signatures against the Oregon Voter File is expected to announce the legal steps necessary to ensure violated rights and valid signatures are restored and petition 303 recertified for the November 2008 ballot. It is expected that suits must be filed against both the Secretary of State and certain County Officials for their role in denying the rights of specific individuals who signed the petition.***

Portland area residents can hear the interview on KPAM 860 at 7PM tonight.

*The reversal of 7 rejected petition signatures would require the Elections Division to certify that HB 2007, passed by the Oregon Legislature creating marriage by another name, in opposition to the clearly expressed will of Oregon voters in 2004, is qualified to be placed on the November 8, 2008 General Election ballot on which Oregonians can vote. Officials in both the County and State Elections Division do not want that to happen, hence the political stone walling of fundamental citizen rights for purely political reasons!

Government is to honor and protect fundamental citizen rights, not deny them.

** 55,179 valid signatures on petition # 303 were required in order to place HB 2007 creating marriage by another name on the November, 2008 General Election Ballot for all Oregonians to vote on. Nearly 63,000 signatures were turned in on each bill.

In 2004 Oregonians voted 57% to 43% to restrict marriage to a man and a woman ONLY and placed that clear decision in the Oregon Constitution, not to be violated by word of art or legislative decree. The 2007 legislature ignored both the will of the people and the Constitution when they approved so called ‘domestic partnerships.’ Petition # 303 is merely an effort to provide Oregonians the opportunity to VOTE on the legislature’s decision to ignore the Constitution and our expressed will.

*** 282 Petition # 303 pages, with an average of 6 signatures per page, were arbitrarily pulled from the delivered petition stacks for alleged ‘errors’ PRIOR to the application of the formula used to determine that the signature count failed by 116 signatures. The vast majority of those signatures were valid and should be counted. They have not been counted under the current rules and procedures. If they were counted, Petition # 303 would have already been approved.