burnin1
Well-Known Member
From thedailychronic.net
ResponsibleOhio Falls Short of Valid Signatures for Marijuana Legalization Amendment
By TJ Baker | The Daily Chronic
July 20, 2015 4:17 PM
COLUMBUS, OH The number of valid signatures needed for ResponsibleOhio to place a highly criticized marijuana legalization proposal before voters in November has fallen nearly 30,000 short, election officials announced Monday.
Out of over 550,000 signatures collected by the organization and submitted to the Secretary of States office last month, only 276,082 were certified as valid by county election officials statewide.
In order to place the constitutional amendment on the November ballot, the group needed to collect 305,591 valid signatures.
The organization now has 10 days to collect and submit 29,509 additional valid signatures in order for the measure to be placed on the November 2015 ballot.
The good news for ResponsibleOhio is that the proposed amendment qualified in 73 of Ohios 88 counties, exceeding the 44 county minimum requirement. The still need to collect enough signatures statewide, however.
Our team has done an excellent job of collecting signatures from voters across the state who want the chance to repeal failed marijuana prohibition this fall. Over the next 10 days, our team of over 200 staffers will be working diligently to collect the remaining 29,509 signatures we need to qualify for the November 2015 ballot, said ResponsibleOhio Executive Director Ian James in a press release issued Monday.
The organization is also challenging the number of signatures certified, citing a significant discrepancy between the number of signatures submitted and the total counted in several counties.
According to ResponsibleOhio, over 40,000 signatures remain unaccounted for.
The total number of signatures evaluated by the Boards of Elections is significantly lower than it should be, said James. Every single voter who signed this petition has the right to be counted. We will be taking these shortfalls to the Ohio Supreme Court to ensure that those thousands of voices are heard.
The Ohio Supreme Court will evaluate the source of the discrepancy and issue a ruling on the validity of the signatures, the ResponsibleOhio says.
This is not the first trouble ResponsibleOhio has had in their attempts to place their proposed constitutional amendment before voters in November.
In June, Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted advised election officials in the states 88 counties to carefully analyze new voter registrations submitted by a company hired by ResponsibleOhio to collect signatures.
Husted said the heightened caution related to reports from some election boards that submissions from ResponsibleOhio contained higher error rates and apparent fraudulent registration attempts. Husted cited non-existent addresses, illegible signatures, duplicate applications from the same address and underage registrants.
Disregard for Ohios laws and Ohios citizens will not be tolerated, Husted said in June. Sloppiness and fraud are unwelcome in our states elections system.
The proposed Marijuana Legalization Amendment by ResponsibleOhio, which would legalize marijuana for medical and personal use by adults 21 years of age and older, has been met with criticism from state officials and many marijuana legalization supporters.
The proposal would limit wholesale grow facilities to 10 specific sites owned and operated by the financial backers of the campaign, essentially creating an oligopoly a market dominated by a small number of sellers.
Most recently, the Ohio Green Party voiced opposition to the measure, saying it would create a state-backed cartel.
The Greens support legalizing marijuana, and have endorsed three other competing measures but oppose the ResponsibleOhio plan.
The plans by Better for Ohio and Responsible Ohio both would create a limited numbers of growers in the state, in essence, both create a state-backed cartel. This is the wrong approach for our state, the Ohio Green Party said in May.
What we would be doing is exchanging an illegal cartel, for a legal one, representing the worst of cannabis capitalism, says Bob Fitrakis, co-chair of the Green Party of Ohio.
http://www.thedailychronic.net/2015...natures-for-marijuana-legalization-amendment/
ResponsibleOhio Falls Short of Valid Signatures for Marijuana Legalization Amendment
By TJ Baker | The Daily Chronic
July 20, 2015 4:17 PM
COLUMBUS, OH The number of valid signatures needed for ResponsibleOhio to place a highly criticized marijuana legalization proposal before voters in November has fallen nearly 30,000 short, election officials announced Monday.
Out of over 550,000 signatures collected by the organization and submitted to the Secretary of States office last month, only 276,082 were certified as valid by county election officials statewide.
In order to place the constitutional amendment on the November ballot, the group needed to collect 305,591 valid signatures.
The organization now has 10 days to collect and submit 29,509 additional valid signatures in order for the measure to be placed on the November 2015 ballot.
The good news for ResponsibleOhio is that the proposed amendment qualified in 73 of Ohios 88 counties, exceeding the 44 county minimum requirement. The still need to collect enough signatures statewide, however.
Our team has done an excellent job of collecting signatures from voters across the state who want the chance to repeal failed marijuana prohibition this fall. Over the next 10 days, our team of over 200 staffers will be working diligently to collect the remaining 29,509 signatures we need to qualify for the November 2015 ballot, said ResponsibleOhio Executive Director Ian James in a press release issued Monday.
The organization is also challenging the number of signatures certified, citing a significant discrepancy between the number of signatures submitted and the total counted in several counties.
According to ResponsibleOhio, over 40,000 signatures remain unaccounted for.
The total number of signatures evaluated by the Boards of Elections is significantly lower than it should be, said James. Every single voter who signed this petition has the right to be counted. We will be taking these shortfalls to the Ohio Supreme Court to ensure that those thousands of voices are heard.
The Ohio Supreme Court will evaluate the source of the discrepancy and issue a ruling on the validity of the signatures, the ResponsibleOhio says.
This is not the first trouble ResponsibleOhio has had in their attempts to place their proposed constitutional amendment before voters in November.
In June, Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted advised election officials in the states 88 counties to carefully analyze new voter registrations submitted by a company hired by ResponsibleOhio to collect signatures.
Husted said the heightened caution related to reports from some election boards that submissions from ResponsibleOhio contained higher error rates and apparent fraudulent registration attempts. Husted cited non-existent addresses, illegible signatures, duplicate applications from the same address and underage registrants.
Disregard for Ohios laws and Ohios citizens will not be tolerated, Husted said in June. Sloppiness and fraud are unwelcome in our states elections system.
The proposed Marijuana Legalization Amendment by ResponsibleOhio, which would legalize marijuana for medical and personal use by adults 21 years of age and older, has been met with criticism from state officials and many marijuana legalization supporters.
The proposal would limit wholesale grow facilities to 10 specific sites owned and operated by the financial backers of the campaign, essentially creating an oligopoly a market dominated by a small number of sellers.
Most recently, the Ohio Green Party voiced opposition to the measure, saying it would create a state-backed cartel.
The Greens support legalizing marijuana, and have endorsed three other competing measures but oppose the ResponsibleOhio plan.
The plans by Better for Ohio and Responsible Ohio both would create a limited numbers of growers in the state, in essence, both create a state-backed cartel. This is the wrong approach for our state, the Ohio Green Party said in May.
What we would be doing is exchanging an illegal cartel, for a legal one, representing the worst of cannabis capitalism, says Bob Fitrakis, co-chair of the Green Party of Ohio.
http://www.thedailychronic.net/2015...natures-for-marijuana-legalization-amendment/
