Medical Marijuana Amendment 2 Left Off Some Florida Ballots
By Keith Mansur
Oregon Cannabis Connection
October 21, 2016 — The Broward County Supervisor of Elections was sued by NORML of Florida because the county left the states marijuana legalization measure off absentee ballots. At this point it is unknown how many ballots have been effected, but the numbers could be quite significant.
Elections Supervisor Brenda Snipes was named in the lawsuit and an immediate emergency hearing was requested. The also claim she knows of the error and has, “failed to act in any manner to correct it.”
The lawsuit states, “The Respondent’s [Ms. Snipes] failure to include Amendment 2 on certain vote-by-mail ballots carries with it the imminent danger that a significant portion of the voting public in Broward County, Florida will be deprived of the opportunity to fully participate in the 2016 general election and violates the constitutional rights of all citizens within Broward County.”
They also say it could be “catastrophic and cataclysmic as it applies to this ballot item”, which needs a 60 percent majority to be approved.
“We don’t know whether this affects one city and one precinct and 8,000 voters or 80,000 voters,” Norm Kent told the Miami Herald.
Norm Kent filed the lawsuit in Broward circuit court Thursday, October 20 seeking an emergency hearing. Kent is the vice-chair of NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws), and he filed the lawsuit for the local chapter of the organization, NORML of Florida.
about 189,000 absentee ballots that have gone out have not yet returned, and about 58,000 have been sent in. According to the Herald, the mistake was on “test ballots” and only effected about five to seven of them for each style of ballot, so likely only effected a few dozen in all. Unfortunately, the provided no way of substantiating their claim.
“I’m not freaking out until we’re given a reason to freak out, but it’s a cause for concern,” Ben Pollara, the campaign director of United for Care, told the Herald. United for Care is the organization behind the ballot measure in Florida.
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