By Rachel La Corte
The Associated Press
OLYMPIA — Supporters of gay marriage in Washington state say they’re in a “very strong position,” with early returns showing voters narrowly approving same-sex marriage in the state.
Voters are passing similar measures in Maine and Maryland.
With about half of the expected ballots counted Tuesday night, Referendum 74 was passing with 52 percent of the vote.
The measure asked Washingtonians to approve or reject a state law legalizing same-sex marriage that lawmakers passed earlier this year.
That law was signed by Gov. Chris Gregoire, but has been on hold pending the election’s outcome.
The referendum has its strongest lead in is the state’s largest county, King, where it’s winning 65 percent of the vote.
“I think it’s premature to declare victory, but we’re in a very strong position,” said Zach Silk, a spokesman for Washington United for Marriage, which supports gay marriage.
Maine’s measure passed Tuesday night with 54 percent of the vote. The measure in Maryland matched Washington state’s lead of 52-48 percent.
A proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage in Minnesota was too close to call Tuesday night, with voters nearly even on the issue.
In Washington, about $13.6 million was spent on the campaign, with the bulk of it coming from gay-marriage supporters.
Washington United for Marriage far outraised its opponents, bringing in more than $12 million compared with the $2.7 million raised by Preserve Marriage Washington, which opposes the law.
“We remain cautiously optimistic that when all the ballots are in that the voters of Washington will not redefine marriage,” said Chip White, a Preserve Marriage spokesman.
“We don’t need to win King County to win the state. There’s still a path to victory for us.”
The road to gay marriage in Washington state began several years ago.
A year after the state’s gay marriage ban was upheld by the state Supreme Court, the state’s first domestic partnership law passed in 2007, granting couples about two dozen rights, including hospital visitation and inheritance rights when there is no will.
It was expanded a year later, and then again in 2009, when lawmakers completed the package with the so-called “everything but marriage” bill that was ultimately upheld by voters later that same year.
This year, lawmakers passed the law allowing same-sex marriage, and Gregoire signed it in February.
Preserve Marriage gathered enough signatures for a referendum, and the law was placed on hold pending the election.
If voters uphold the law, gay couples could start picking up their marriage certificates and licenses from county auditors’ offices Dec. 6, a day after the election is certified.
However, because Washington state has a three-day waiting period, the earliest the certificate could be signed, making the marriage valid, is Dec. 9.
The law doesn’t require religious organizations or churches to perform marriages, and doesn’t subject churches to penalties if they don’t marry gay or lesbian couples.
Maine joins six other states — New York, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont — and the District of Columbia in allowing gay marriage.
But unlike the others, it was the first to enact the law by public vote. The other states either legislated laws or issued court rulings that permit same-sex marriage.
