Voters say no to benefits

Opponents of providing benefits to same-sex partners of state and local government workers in Alaska appeared to be leading in an advisory election Tuesday, but they may not win the battle.

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Late Tuesday evening a majority of voters, or 55.4 percent, appeared to advise the Alaska Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the 2008 ballot to deny benefits to same-sex partners of public workers, according to preliminary elections results. About 80.6 percent of the precincts had reported their results by the Empire's press time.

Rep. John Coghill, R-North Pole, said he will try to use the vote to persuade other legislators to push for the amendment.

"I'm going to say to my colleagues, 'They said yes. Give us a constitutional amendment we can debate on.'"

Such an amendment would bar the state from providing benefits to state employees, who have received them since Jan. 1. Domestic partners of employees of the University of Alaska, city of Juneau, municipality of Anchorage and other public entities have been eligible for benefits for longer than that, and also would lose them under such an amendment.

Republican leaders in the state Legislature oppose the benefits, but they have been unable to win the necessary two-thirds vote in each house to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot.

ADVISORY VOTE QUESTION

Yes 55.4 percent

No 44.6 percent

Precincts counted 80.6 percent

Vote totals are unofficial results as of press time. Juneau precinct results will run in Thursday's Empire.

Instead, they placed an advisory measure on the ballot, hoping that a decisive vote against the benefits would force wavering legislators to support a constitutional amendment.

State Sen. Kim Elton, D-Juneau, called the results "resoundingly not definitive."

Such a close vote is unlikely to win more support for the measure in the Senate, he said.

"They didn't have it last year, and they're further away this year," he said.

One of the staunchest opponents of same-sex partner benefits in the last legislative session was Sen. Ralph Seekins, R-Fairbanks, who was defeated in the fall election. Instead of being in the Legislature, he spent the election bankrolling the campaign for the amendment.

Jesse Cross-Call of the Alaskans Together campaign against the constitutional amendment was positive Tuesday night, despite trailing at the polls.

"The other side is looking for an overwhelming vote, and I really don't think we're seeing an overwhelming vote tonight," he said.

Juneau benefits opponent Mike Shakespeare said he thought the vote was a solid indication of what Alaskans feel.

"I suspect the way it's going right now, with 76 percent in, unless there's some surprise, there would be a furtherance to put it on the ballot for vote in 2008."

State employee Mary Graham, at an election-night gathering of opponents to a constitutional amendment, disagreed.

"I'm encouraged about it," she said. "I don't think the numbers give the Legislature any kind of mandate."

Were the opponents to get a proposal for a constitutional amendment through both the House and the Senate, it would just need the signature of Gov. Sarah Palin to go on before the voters.

Palin earlier had signed the bill placing the advisory vote on the ballot, citing her support for the sanctity of marriage.

"I'll be voting for it," she said.

• Empire reporter Brittany Retherford contributed to this story.