OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Two statewide ballot measures topped the ticket Tuesday for Washington state voters.

The focus of this year's off-year election is a referendum on expanded domestic partnership rights for gay and senior couples. Referendum 71 asks Washington voters whether they approve or reject the "everything but marriage" law for same-sex couples.

As of 9:15 p.m. Tuesday, with 50 percent of precincts counted, the AP reported 51 percent of voters approving the referendum and 49 percent rejecting it.

If it stands, the law gives domestic partners the same rights under state law as married couples, including sick leave care, unemployment and disability insurance and child custody rights.

Initiative 1033

With voters soundly defeating Initiative 1033, anti-tax activist Tim Eyman is acknowledging that his measure won't win at the polls this year.

With about 48 percent of the expected vote counted in unofficial tallies Tuesday night, I-1033 was losing 55 percent to 45 percent.

The initiative would have capped government revenue growth, and cut property taxes. Any tax hikes would have gone on the ballot.

The opposition campaign has declared victory, saying voters have already seen government services cut back because of the recession.

But Eyman says Olympia politicians should not take I-1033's apparent defeat as a message that they should raise taxes. He says 45 percent of voters still agreed with its plan to limit government.

While preliminary results show Clark County passed the initiative 54 percent to 45 percent, political analyst Tim Hibbitts said Seattle voters helped defeat the initiative.

"The western part of Washington state voted this down by a wide margin. Clark County was supporting it, but it will fail by a significant margin," Hibbitts said.