Nevada Marijuana Petition Heads to Court

A recount of voter signatures on a Nevada marijuana ballot initiative came up 1,925 short of the required 51,337. But the initiative could still end up on the November ballot as organizers appeal the recount in court, the Las Vegas Sun reported Sept. 2.

According to Nevada Secretary of State Dean Heller, the recount found that the Committee to Regulate and Control Marijuana had 49,412 qualifying signatures, less than the required 51,337.

But Jennifer Knight, director of communications for the pro-marijuana group, said she is confident that the appeal of the recount will result in 2,300 additional signatures being approved, allowing the marijuana initiative to be placed on the November ballot. The initiative would allow adults to legally possess one ounce of marijuana.

Knight said the recount process in Washoe County had "substantial fundamental flaws" in the verification system.

In the first count, the marijuana group had garnered 14,117 signatures of registered voters in the county. But a full count of petitions turned up only 12,685 signatures. According to Knight, there were computer problems in Washoe County, and temporary county workers were unable to focus exclusively on the recount because they were required to answer telephones while verifying signatures.

Knight added that election officials also failed to double-check the signatures that were rejected.

The 2,300 signatures to be reviewed by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals are of people who registered to vote on the same day that they signed the petition.

Heller said the signatures were disqualified because the voter registrations were not turned in to the registrar on the same day the petition signing took place.

Source: www.jointogether.org