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 days 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.
Read more on Hemp Gazette.