Just one day after Arkansas’s top elections official deemed that a medical marijuana legalization expansion initiative has “insufficient” signatures, the campaign behind that reform proposal has filed a lawsuit with the state Supreme Court contesting that determination.
Last month, Arkansans for Patient Access (APA) turned in a final batch of petitions for the cannabis measure, with over 150,000 signatures from all of the state’s 75 counties. But Secretary of State John Thurston (R) advised the campaign on Monday that only 88,040 were valid, whereas they needed 90,704.
Now advocates are fighting back, with a suit filed in the Arkansas Supreme Court on Tuesday that seeks an expedited hearing as Election Day approaches.
“The Court should enter a preliminary injunction to require the Secretary of State to count and verify all signatures turned in to the Secretary and to then certify the Amendment to appear on the ballot pending resolution of this action,” the filing says.
“The Court should find that APA has submitted sufficient signatures to qualify the Medical Marijuana Amendment of 2024 for the general election ballot and should compel the Secretary to certify the initiative for the ballot,” it says.
A supplementary motion to expedite the case states
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