We have no way of knowing whether Tim Eyman is telling the truth, but we do know that Tim Eyman sent an email today to supporters and the media. In it, he says that only 8,718 signatures have been collected for Referendum 65.
112,440 valid signatures are required for qualification on the ballot, but Eyman will need a cushion of thousands more signatures because a certain percentage are always duplicates or otherwise invalid.

When the AP asked Rep. Ed Murray for comment, he voiced skepticism:

“I’m very suspicious that it’s a political ploy,” said Rep. Ed Murray, D-Seattle, who sponsored the gay civil rights bill and is one of four openly gay lawmakers in the Legislature.

Eyman, for his part, gave a curious response:

“I think we’re going to be scraping by the skin of our teeth,” he said. “They assume we’re smarter than we are. That’s not the case.”

Actually, we don’t assume Eyman is smart. But we do assume, based on what’s happened in the past, that special interests and wealthy backers (especially those who can’t stand the idea of equality) will in fact be willing to put up money to fund a paid signature drive to get Referendum 65 on the ballot.

Of course, so far, Eyman’s fundraising for R-65 has been less than lackluster, and we couldn’t be more pleased about that.

Some of Eyman’s supporters told the AP they are hoping the state Supreme Court will overturn the state’s ban on gay marriage, thereby providing “a spark” to inspire right wing religious zealots to gather signatures. That indicates they’re having some trouble gathering signatures now.

And to that – we say, good.