The sponsors of Nebraska's medical cannabis ballot measures are pushing back on the state's chief election official for questioning nearly 100,000 signatures, which they say threatens "the initiative right altogether."
Secretary of State Bob Evnen and Attorney General Mike Hilgers entered court filings questioning the validity of roughly 49,000 signatures on each of two medical cannabis petitions. They alleged that more than half involved "notary malfeasance." Evnen asked the court to determine the actual number of valid signatures and void the election results if there aren't enough.
Attorneys for the three sponsors of Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana said Monday that Evnen has not alleged any "intentional wrongdoing" as required under the law and ignores past legal precedents "in his effort to disenfranchise tens of thousands of Nebraska voters."
"Even worse, Nebraska's highest election official advances a burden shifting framework that threatens to undermine and eliminate the initiative right altogether," the sponsors' brief states..
Read more at nebraskaexaminer.com