Christine Green
New Member
Lansing, MI – Marijuana advocates are vowing to continue their fight to legalize recreational marijuana use in Michigan, despite a Board of State Canvassers ruling their signature collection insufficient on Thursday.
MILegalize, the group behind a petition drive to legalize recreational marijuana for those older than 21 in the state, recently turned in 354,000 signatures to the state for review.
The group needed 252,523 signatures to get on the ballot – but a report from Secretary of State staff prepared for the Board of State Canvassers determined only 146,413 were valid, as 137,029 signatures were collected prior to the 180-day time window.
Although a procedure established in the 1980s states that a group can prove its signatures older than 180 days are still valid and tied to registered voters, the Board of State Canvassers concluded MILegalize did not sufficiently prove that those who signed more than 180 days ago were registered to vote when they signed.
"By several different measures of our current policy, they have not met the threshold," state board member Norm Shinkle said.
Moving forward, Shinkle said Gov. Rick Snyder's recent signing of Senate bill 776, which implements strict enforcement of the 180-day signature-collection window, would provide a clear line for the board to follow in future cases.
A pro-marijuana group dropped off more than enough petition signatures in Lansing on Wednesday to get a decriminalization measure on the ballot this November. Sixty-one boxes of petitions were unloaded at the Secretary of State Elections Division building and supporters gathered around them to pose for pictures at the stroke of 4:20 p.m. The 354,000 signatures is more than...
Thomas Lavigne, an attorney with Cannabis Counsel and a board member of MILegalize, said the group has a basis to file in either the state Court of Claims or federal court on grounds that the decision violates the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and the rights of voters to collect signatures to initiate state laws as outlined in Michigan's constitution.
"We're getting on the ballot – this is a constitutional right, and the people can rest assured this will be on the ballot," he said.
Those petitioning voters for a spot on Michigan's ballot will have a strict 180 days to gather signatures under a law signed by Gov. Rick Snyder Tuesday.
Although MILegalize strongly opposes SB 776, which Lavigne said is "unconstitutional on its face," Lavigne said the law does not apply to them because it went into effect after the group filed its signatures.
"We may have to leave that to another battle," Lavigne said when asked whether SB 776 would be addressed in any upcoming litigation from MILegalize.
Another petition group, the Committee to Ban Fracking in Michigan, has filed suit in the Court of saying the 180 day window is unconstitutional.
The lawsuit lists Board of State Canvassers, Director of Election Christopher Thomas and Secretary of State Ruth Johnson as defendants.
News Moderator: Christine Green 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Pro-marijuana ballot petitioners vow legal action after state board rejects signatures | MLive.com
Author: Lauren Gibbons
Contact: aanews@mlive.com
Photo Credit: Samantha Madar
Website: Michigan Local News, Breaking News, Sports & Weather - MLive.com
MILegalize, the group behind a petition drive to legalize recreational marijuana for those older than 21 in the state, recently turned in 354,000 signatures to the state for review.
The group needed 252,523 signatures to get on the ballot – but a report from Secretary of State staff prepared for the Board of State Canvassers determined only 146,413 were valid, as 137,029 signatures were collected prior to the 180-day time window.
Although a procedure established in the 1980s states that a group can prove its signatures older than 180 days are still valid and tied to registered voters, the Board of State Canvassers concluded MILegalize did not sufficiently prove that those who signed more than 180 days ago were registered to vote when they signed.
"By several different measures of our current policy, they have not met the threshold," state board member Norm Shinkle said.
Moving forward, Shinkle said Gov. Rick Snyder's recent signing of Senate bill 776, which implements strict enforcement of the 180-day signature-collection window, would provide a clear line for the board to follow in future cases.
A pro-marijuana group dropped off more than enough petition signatures in Lansing on Wednesday to get a decriminalization measure on the ballot this November. Sixty-one boxes of petitions were unloaded at the Secretary of State Elections Division building and supporters gathered around them to pose for pictures at the stroke of 4:20 p.m. The 354,000 signatures is more than...
Thomas Lavigne, an attorney with Cannabis Counsel and a board member of MILegalize, said the group has a basis to file in either the state Court of Claims or federal court on grounds that the decision violates the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and the rights of voters to collect signatures to initiate state laws as outlined in Michigan's constitution.
"We're getting on the ballot – this is a constitutional right, and the people can rest assured this will be on the ballot," he said.
Those petitioning voters for a spot on Michigan's ballot will have a strict 180 days to gather signatures under a law signed by Gov. Rick Snyder Tuesday.
Although MILegalize strongly opposes SB 776, which Lavigne said is "unconstitutional on its face," Lavigne said the law does not apply to them because it went into effect after the group filed its signatures.
"We may have to leave that to another battle," Lavigne said when asked whether SB 776 would be addressed in any upcoming litigation from MILegalize.
Another petition group, the Committee to Ban Fracking in Michigan, has filed suit in the Court of saying the 180 day window is unconstitutional.
The lawsuit lists Board of State Canvassers, Director of Election Christopher Thomas and Secretary of State Ruth Johnson as defendants.
News Moderator: Christine Green 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Pro-marijuana ballot petitioners vow legal action after state board rejects signatures | MLive.com
Author: Lauren Gibbons
Contact: aanews@mlive.com
Photo Credit: Samantha Madar
Website: Michigan Local News, Breaking News, Sports & Weather - MLive.com
