Massachusetts election officials have scheduled a hearing to investigate a complaint challenging the signature gathering process for a proposed ballot initiative to roll back the state’s marijuana law.
This comes about two weeks after the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Elections Division confirmed that the anti-cannabis campaign collected enough valid signatures to send the measure to lawmakers for consideration ahead of potentially being placed on the November ballot.
Opponents of the initiative submitted a complaint to the secretary’s office last week, arguing that the campaign “obtained signatures fraudulently.” The State Ballot Law Commission has now put a pre-hearing conference on the calendar for January 12, and a formal hearing will take place on January 13.
“Paid signature gatherers at Trader Joe’s in Hanover, Market Basket facilities in Plymouth, Whole Foods in Weymouth and in parking lots around Gillette Stadium in Foxborough have misled voters with respect to what they were signing and thus obtained signatures fraudulently,” the filing states.
“Among the misleading statements were assertions that the law proposed on the petition blanks they were signing would get fentanyl off the streets, provide affordable housing in their communities or fund public parks,” the filing, which was first reported by State House
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