When you last heard from us about the Eureka Springs Domestic Partnership Registry, we thought the registry had been blocked by a successful referendum petition. Turns out, that's not so.

The petition was declared to be «insufficient» today by MJ Sell, City Clerk/Treasurer of Eureka Springs. Yes, opponent Rev. Phillip Wilson and his merry band of canvassers did manage to collect enough signatures to bring the issue to a vote. But the petition itself was improperly prepared--a legal fact that renders all signatures moot.

Sell presented her decision, with supporting code annotations, to the Carroll County Election Commission. In part, Sell's decision reads, «I declare that the petition is not sufficient for placement on a special election ballot because the ballot title is not presented, copies of Ordinance 2052 were not attached to the petitions for signers to review prior to signing, and a special election is not requested by the petition.»

Election Commission Chairman Levi Phillips read Sell's decision aloud. «We'll put it into the record,» he said, «But the Carroll County Election Commission has no dog in this fight. When the city directs us to put issues on the ballot, that's what we've got an obligation to do and that's what we're going to do. But Eureka Springs has not directed us to have an election.»

Confused? We don't blame you. Let's recap:

The Eureka Springs Domestic Partnership Registry, City Ordinance #2052, was passed unanimously three times by the Eureka Springs City Council after months of local discussion and input. The Registry was slated to list its first couple on Friday, June 22.

Then the opposition, led by Rev. Phillip Wilson of the First Christian Church, carried a petition for referendum which demanded that the measure be put to a vote of the people. The opposition needed 144 signatures to force a referendum and stop the opening of the registry on June 22; 147 valid signatures were obtained. So we thought we were going to have to wait for a vote on the measure in August.

Then, today, we discovered that the petition didn't count--a decision that is being characterized by the opposition as, «An attack on the right of the people to petition their government for redress.» But no... actually, the moral of this story is, if you want to file for a referendum, you can't just gather signatures on a random piece of paper. You have to follow the rules set by Arkansas law, and the opposition didn't do that. So the Registry was on for June 22, then it was off, and now it's on again.

But wait! There's more.

Rev. Wilson still has until the close of business tomorrow to submit signatures albeit, this time, on a legally valid and certified petition. Can he do it? Gay News Bureau's crack Rev-spotting team has been calling in reports of the Reverend's petition gathering efforts at a variety of local biscuit, gravy & hominy-on-the-side establishments. It sure looks like he's making a herculean effort.

So Eureka Springs will either make history by opening the first domestic partnership registry in Arkansas, and the mid-south region, at 9:30 am, Friday, June 22 at City Hall. Or the Reverend will turn in another petition and we'll have to see if his second attempt is any better than his first failure.

We'll know the answer by 5pm CST tomorrow and, as soon as we find out, we'll let you know.

(Chairman Phillips' photo courtesy of ES Folk.)

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