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| Pot Petition Proponents Want a Recount |
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Posted by FoM on July 13, 2001 at 15:34:01 PT By Doug Caruso, Dispatch City Hall Reporter Source: Columbus Dispatch 
The campaign to decriminalize marijuana in Columbus took a big hit yesterday. The Franklin County Board of Elections reported that pot proponents are 1,858 signatures short of the 7,213 needed to place an issue on the November ballot calling for Columbus police and prosecutors to ignore laws governing possession of up to 7 ounces of marijuana. Kenneth Schweickart, president of For a Better Ohio, the group promoting the initiative, said he wants a recount. Schweickart charged yesterday that elections' officials botched the count because they are in the midst of a move to new offices and because they don't have enough workers to do the job accurately. The Board of Elections, at 410 S. High St., is moving to 280 E. Broad St. during the weekend. "It's extremely unlikely that they could have counted the signatures and evaluated them thoroughly,'' Schweickart said. "We were just so diligent about voter registration, and our validity should be much higher. We should have enough to make it on the ballot.'' For a Better Ohio registered 3,100 voters during its petition drive, he said. After his staff spent the past two weeks checking 10,762 signatures on the petition, Board of Elections Director Guy Reece II reported to the Columbus city clerk late yesterday afternoon that just 5,355 were from registered Columbus voters. City law requires at least 7,213 signatures -- 5 percent of the turnout in the last general election. Most of the invalid signatures, Reece said, were from unregistered voters or from voters registered outside of Columbus. One elections worker said yesterday that the petition was one of the sloppiest she's seen. Just fewer than half the signatures were valid. Normally, about 70 percent of the signatures on such a petition are valid. The board checks petition signatures for the Columbus city clerk's office as a courtesy. Under city law, Clerk Timothy J. McSweeney has the final say on the petition's validity. Petitioners could review the signatures themselves and make their case directly to the clerk that the petition is valid. Failing that, they could go to court to ask a judge to order McSweeney to validate the petition. But time for such action is short. After a petition is certified, the City Council must take it up at its next regular meeting. The last such meeting before the state's Aug. 23 deadline to approve issues for the ballot is on July 30 because the council recesses in August. Even if the initiative made it to the ballot and voters approved it, many question whether it would pass legal muster. Schweickart has said that his own research indicates the initiative would hold up if approved. Complete Title: Pot Petition Proponents Want a Recount After Falling Short Source: Columbus Dispatch (OH) Related Articles & Web Site: For a Better Ohio Initiative On Pot Won't Pass Muster Group Seeking Ballot Issue To Legalize Possession Marijuana Issue May Go On Ballot Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
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Comment #2 posted by booger on July 16, 2001 at 21:34:37 PT:
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| When will marijuana be legal in louisiana? [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #1 posted by sm247 on July 15, 2001 at 00:22:27 PT |
| Schweickart charged yesterday that elections' officials botched the count because they are in the midst of a move to new offices and because they don't have enough workers to do the job accurately. The Board of Elections, at 410 S. High St., is moving to 280 E. Broad St. during the weekend. Maybe part of the petitions were dropped off at... [ Post Comment ] |
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