LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Organizers of an effort to expand medical marijuana i Arkansas sued the state on Tuesday over the decision that the proposal would not be eligible for the November ballot.
Arkansans for Patient Access asked the state Supreme Court to order Secretary of State John Thurston’s office to certify their proposal before the ballot. Thurston said Monday that the proposal was ineligible, ruling that the petitions did not meet the required valid signatures from registered voters.
The medical marijuana proposal aimed to expand a measure that state voters approved in 2016. It 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 group’s lawsuit challenges Thurston’s decision not to count some signatures because the state alleged he failed to follow paperwork rules regarding paid signature gatherers. The lawsuit comes weeks after a ballot measure that would have rolled back Arkansas’ abortion ban blocked from voting due to similar claims, it did not meet paperwork requirements.
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 group said the move marked a change in the state’s position because the same standard was not applied to petitions filed previously.
“It would be fundamentally unfair if the Secretary’s newly ‘discovered’ position were imposed on APA at the eleventh hour of the signature gathering process,” the group said in its filing.
Thurston’s office declined to comment on the lawsuit. Attorney General Tim Griffin said he would defend Thurston’s office in court.
“Our laws protect the integrity of the ballot initiative process,” Griffin said in a statement. “I applaud Secretary of State John Thurston for his commitment to rigorously following the law, and I will vigorously defend him in court.”