A Florida campaign seeking to put marijuana legalization on the ballot is facing another complication as it continues to litigate the status of its 2026 signature drive. Under a new election law, the hundreds of thousands of signatures activists already collected for this year will not be carried over into the 2028 cycle.
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed a bill into law last year that makes several fundamental changes to the ballot process in a way that advocates say significantly undermines their ability to put citizen initiatives before voters, including a policy to reset the signature clock for each election cycle.
Accordingly, the state Division of Elections page for the Smart & Safe Florida cannabis measure now shows 0 verified signatures for the 2028 ballot, erasing the nearly 800,000 signatures the campaign gathered to put legalization on the ballot this November. Officials said activists failed to meet the signature threshold for this upcoming election, but that matter is still being separately challenged in the state Supreme Court.
“The new law means all signatures expire for the new cycle,” a Smart & Safe Florida spokesperson told Marijuana Moment on Monday, calling it “one more way they screwed over voters.”
Other changes
Read full article on Marijuana Moment
