While signature requirements have been met to get the issue of medical cannabis on Nebraska’s November ballot, allegations have been raised concerning the signature gathering process.
After a couple of failed attempts, legalizing medical cannabis should finally be in front of the state’s voters this November. In late August, Nebraska Secretary of State Robert Evnen announced two petitions had met the 100% signature threshold required for verification and certification. One petition was for the Patient Protection Act and the other the Medical Cannabis Regulation Act.
Last week, the Secretary said county election offices had completed signature verification within the 40-day period as required. But an investigation conducted by the Attorney General’s office has uncovered alleged issues, and a signature collector is being charged with felony fraud.
While signatures that cannot be verified by county election workers are not included in the overall signature count, the Secretary is certifying the petitions because they still appear to have met the threshold requirements.
“That could change in light of the Attorney General’s investigation,” said Secretary Evnen. “Both cannabis petitions will appear on the ballot, but a court could order later that the initiatives be thrown out.”
Last Friday, Hall County Attorney Martin Klein and Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers announced Hall County Election Commissioner Tracy Overstreet flagged 17 pages of the Medical Cannabis Regulation petition and 21 pages of the Medical Cannabis Patient Protection petition as having potentially fraudulent signatures.
All pages with suspect signatures were traced back to one petition circulator. He has been charged with false swearing to a circulator’s affidavit on a petition and faces up to a maximum of two years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine if convicted.
“Nebraskans expect secure elections,” stated Attorney General Mike Hilgers. “As we head into election season, Nebraskans should be confident that the election and law enforcement officials will work together to identify and investigate fraudulent activity.”
The organisation that led the petition effort, Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana (NMM), said it provides extensive training to petition circulators.
“Circulators are held to an extremely high standard and are required to strictly follow all legal requirements for collecting signatures. Any circulators caught violating the law should be held accountable for their actions.”
But the organisation is celebrating the certification announcement.
“Many years of hard work, along with Nebraska’s unwavering and overwhelming support, has made this day possible,” NMM posted. “We are confident that come November, Nebraskans will once and for all have the ability to vote FOR safe and compassionate medical cannabis access and regulation.”
