Votes won’t be counted for Arkansas medical marijuana ballot measure, court says
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The Arkansas Supreme Court on Monday blocked the counting of votes for a ballot initiative that would have taken place expanded medical marijuana in the state, ruling that the proposal’s language was misleading.
In a 4-3 decision, the justices ruled that the measure did not fully inform voters about the impact it would have had on a 2016 constitutional amendment that legalized medical marijuana. This year’s proposed constitutional amendment would have expanded the definition of medical professionals who can certify patients for medical cannabis, expanded qualification requirements and made medical cannabis cards valid for three years.
The size will still appear on the mood since the certification deadline has passed, but election officials will not count votes cast. Early voting began Monday in Arkansas.
In the same ruling, the judges rejected election officials’ reasons for finding that the organizers of the measure did not meet expectations signatures required to put the measure on the ballot.
The justices said Monday that the ballot measure failed to inform voters that it would have taken away the Legislature’s power to change the 2016 medical marijuana amendment.
“This decision has nullified the proposed ballot measure and is downright misleading,” Judge Shawn Womack wrote in the majority opinion.
The court also said the measure failed to inform voters that, if approved, the amendment would legalize up to an ounce of marijuana possession for any purpose if marijuana becomes legal under federal law.
Arkansans for Patient Access, the group behind the measure, said it would continue to push for expansion of the medical marijuana program and that the signatures collected showed broad support.
“We are deeply disappointed in the Court’s decision,” the group said in a statement. “It appears that politics has triumphed over legal precedent.”
Arkansans for Patient Access sued after Secretary of State John Thurston said the group did not meet the signatures needed to qualify for the ballot. The issue over the wording of the ballot measure was raised by Protect Arkansas Kids, a group that opposed the measure and intervened in the case.
Thurston’s office had refused to count some of the signatures submitted, claiming the group had not followed paperwork rules regarding paid signature gatherers.
The state rejected petitions filed in favor of one ballot measure against abortion earlier this year on similar grounds.
The state determined in July that the group did not meet the required signatures, but was given an additional 30 days to distribute petitions. But the state then told the group that any additional signatures collected by paid signature gatherers would not be counted if the required information were submitted by the canvassing company rather than by sponsors of the measure.
The court said Thursday that decision was wrong because state law allows a wide range of people to be considered sponsors of the measure.
In a dissent, Justice Cody Hiland said the court ignored decades of precedent in ruling that the wording of the measure was misleading.
“Long ago, this court established definitive standards for assessing the sufficiency of popular names and voice titles,” Hiland wrote. “To this day, this court has not deviated from those standards.”
About half of US states allow recreational marijuana and a dozen more states have legalized medical marijuana. These numbers could increase after the November elections. Voters in Florida, North Dakota and South Dakota will decide whether to legalize recreational marijuana for adults, and two medical marijuana proposals will go to a vote in Nebraska.