Yes, said U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle last week in granting a preliminary injunction that keeps secret the names of voters who signed the petition demanding a refernedum on a Washington state law that grants virtually all the rights of married couples to domestic partners.

Settle's decision comes from his stated and understandable desire to protect those signers from the pressure tactics of gay rights groups, who have said they would target those who signed (just as advocates for and against same-sex marriage in California have sought to pressure donors to the campaigns for and against Prop 8). Gay rights groups are probably hurting themselves with this approach, and all sides in the dispute should be more respectful of those with whom they disagree. But this is a dangerous decison that does real damage to the first amendment and to the public's right to know.

Petitioning the government to overturn a law is not, in way shape or form, a private act. It's a legislative act, in fact. Such a decision could be used as a precedent to shield other legislative acts and attempts to influence the law from disclosure and scrutiny. Some contacts between the public and the government required privacy, especially when the public is required to give the government information (as in the case of taxes). But since the Declaration of Independence, signing one's name to a petition in this country has been a public act. Settle's decision is a terrible departure from our constitutional tradition. he should reverse himself before a higher court does it for him. .

In August, the Gates Foundation and Thrive by Five announced grants totaling $8 million for two early learning programs in the state of Washington. The White Center Early Learning Initiative and East Yakima's Ready by Five program will each receive $4 million over the next year to continue supporting children and their families as they prepare for kindergarten.

This is a second round of funding for these initiatives; last year White Center received $11.7 million and Ready by Five received $5 million.

It's reassuring to see programs like these receiving funding, especially as the economic crisis forces some states to cut back investments in early childhood programs. It also shows that the state of Washington is establishing itself as a strong player in early education reform. Earlier this month, Washington's SeaTac area was the site of the national Starting Strong conference. And as we described in July, some promising outcomes related to the PreK-3^rd approach are emerging from Bremerton, Wash.

The Secretary of State in Washington wants to save some cash -- by limiting the descriptions and financial analyses of initiative and referendum to just one page in state ballot pamphlets. That means even the most complicated measures will have to be explained in 500 words or less. The Everett (Wash.) Herald explains why that's penny-wise, pound-foolish.

In the Sacramento Bee, New America's Steven Hill examines claims being made in California about the value of a "top two"-style open primary, which appears to be the new favorite idea of the state's community of goo goo reformers. Hill is skeptical of claims that such a primary would produce more moderate office holders or provide voter choice -- particularly in light of Washington state's experience with such a primary.

Frequent initiative sponsor Tim Eyman is scheduled to announce a new initiative Monday that would limit how much revenue can be collected by state and local governments. Any excess money would be used to reduce property tax bills. Look for this to be pitched as a response to the collapse of the real estate market and the economic crisis. But it's a high-risk policy. With economists of all kinds calling for public investment to stimulate the economy, the state, cities and counties of Washington would instead have to spend less.

To the south, in neighboring Oregon, the business community is preparing an initiative that would guarantee more funding for higher education.

Here's a story on new poll results in Washington state, that show Initiative 1000, which legalizes physician-assisted death, with a big lead. A controversial measure to set aside general fund money for relief from traffic congestion,is in a dead heat.

Before I get on the plane tomorrow, here's a few short items that I missed this week.

THE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF OPEN PRIMARY: Under Washington state's "top two" open primary law, candidates are permitted to list their own party preference on the ballot. But Democrats, believing that the Republican gubernatorial nominee is obscuring his unpopular party affiliation with a ballot reference to GOP, went to court to demand that the Republican be listed as a Republican.

VOTING OF THE FORECLOSED: In the most important political story of the week not related to the Wall Street bailout, there are signs that voters who lost their homes to foreclosure and haven't changed their address on voter registration documents may be systematically challenged at the polls -- to prevent them from voting -- by Republican operatives.

USDA ADS STOPPED: The U.S. Department of Agriculture had been running ads that seemed designed to oppose Prop. 2, the California ballot initiative to regulate how farm animals are confined. This week, a federal judge told the agency that, as a government agency, it couldn't take sides in a campaign.

There are few things more painful -- and expensive than collecting a couple hundred thousand signatures on an initiative but not quite getting enough to qualify. But that's what happened in Washington state, where backers of an initiative to permit smoking in cigar bars and private clubs collected 213,000 signatures--but not the 225,000 required to make the November ballot.

If this new statewide ballot initiative passes in Washington state, look for copy cat measures to show up in a state near you. Initiative 985 is a package of measures, including a requirement that traffic lights be synchronized and funding for a new anti-congestion fund. The initiative appears to have enough signatures to make the ballot.