4 days Ago By A.J. Herrington, Contributor
Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen and a former state senator are asking a judge to nullify the passage of two medical cannabis initiatives in this month’s election, arguing that petitions submitted to qualify the measures for the ballot are tainted by misconduct. A lawsuit filed in Lancaster County District Court seeks to overturn the passage of Initiative Measures 437 and 438 , both of which passed with more than two-thirds of the vote in the November general election. The lawsuit, which was filed by John Kuehn, a former state senator and former member of the State Board of Health, alleges that the signature-gathering process was “permeated” by fraud, the Nebraska Examiner reported last week.
Kuehn filed the legal action against three ballot sponsors for Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana and Evnen, who certified the initiatives for the ballot. Suit Alleges Fraud By Initiative Sponsors Evnen, through the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office, has since joined Keuhn in allegations that thousands of signatures gathered to place the medical cannabis initiatives on the ballot are “tainted” by fraud committed by petition circulators and misconduct by notaries public who improperly certified petitions. In a four-day trial in the suit earlier this month, witnesses included two petition circulators who admitted they violated the law in gathering signatures and delivering petitions.
“This Court cannot turn a blind eye to the sponsors and [Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana] campaign members’ willful disregard of the Nebraska Constitution and the statutory scheme that regulates the initiative process,” the attorney general’s office wrote in a November 12 brief on behalf of Evnen. Successful initiatives to legalize medical cannabis in Nebraska are in jeopardy of being overturned ..
. [+] as a result of a lawsuit that alleges fraud by petition circulators. Keuhn’s attorneys have argued that notaries deliberately and regularly failed to notarize circulators’ petition pages while in each other’s presence.
The plaintiffs also allege that notaries had self-certified petitions they had circulated themselves or had notarized pages without a required circulator’s oath present. The Warmest Winter Leggings Of 2024, According To Our Editors The 11 Best Lip Liners, According To Top Makeup Artists Evnen’s attorneys told District Judge Susan Strong that the “pervasiveness” of the alleged fraud makes it “practically impossible” to distinguish genuine signatures from fraudulent ones. “Intentional wrongful conduct permeated the campaign from top to bottom,” reads the brief from the attorney general’s office.
“Their abuse of the public trust, their willful disregard for the law, their willingness to let the ends justify the means have brought us here.” If the judge accepts the plaintiffs’ arguments, she could permit the sponsors of the medical cannabis legalization initiatives to attempt to “rehabilitate” the signatures in question and prove that they are valid. Attorneys for Evnen, however, have argued that such an attempt would be “futile.
” Strong could also rule in favor of the sponsors of the initiatives and allow the results of this month’s election to stand. She could also agree with the plaintiffs and invalidate the results, overturning the will of the hundreds of thousands of voters who supported the measures. However the judge decides, attorneys for both sides have said the case is likely to be appealed to the Nebraska Supreme Court.
Legal arguments can resume after Nebraska’s state constitutional officers meet on December 2 to certify the results of the election. Ballot Measures Legalize Medical Cannabis in Nebraska Initiative Measure 437 , also known as the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Patient Protection Act, legalizes the medicinal use of cannabis for patients who have a written recommendation from a healthcare professional. The new law, which passed with 71% of the vote, also legalizes the possession for medicinal purposes of up to five ounces of cannabis by patients and caregivers.
Initiative Measure 438 , the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Regulation Act, was approved by voters in the November 5 election with 67% of the vote. The initiative legalizes the possession, production, processing, distribution, and dispensing of medical cannabis for businesses licensed by the state. The measure also establishes the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission to oversee the enactment of the law and regulate the state’s newly legal medical cannabis industry.
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