Bad Buzz: ResponsibleOhio falls short in signature effort
Monday’s news did not deliver the high that ResponsibleOhio was hoping for…more like a bad buzz. Organizers of the marijuana legalization effort needed to submit just over 305,000 valid signatures to the state in order to qualify for November’s ballot. On June 30th, they turned in an impressive 695,000 signatures. Unfortunately for them, less than half of those were deemed valid. The Board of Elections says that most signatures that were discounted were due to things like wrong or missing addresses or because the person that signed was not a registered voter.
Roughly 276,000 signatures were counted in the group’s favor leaving them nearly 30,000 short. They now have ten days to submit the remaining number of valid signatures to make the ballot. In addition, the group is vowing to go to the Ohio Supreme Court to contest the invalidation of 40,000 petition signatures.
(jj)
Previous: Board of Elections to announce fate of ResponsibleOhio measure
ResponsibleOhio, one of the groups trying to get a marijuana legalization proposal in front of voters this fall, is expected to find out soon from the Board of Elections if they’ve been successful at making the ballot. The group needed to submit approximately 305,000 valid petition signatures to qualify for November’s election. They submitted almost 700,000 signatures but many of those are turning out to be invalid. Recent surveys have shown roughly 20,000 signatures invalidated in Franklin County, while in Fairfield County there appear to have been more invalid signatures submitted than valid ones. How those final numbers and the numbers in the rest of the state shake out will tell the final tale. ResponsibleOhio says that they feel confident about qualifying for the ballot.
Meanwhile, ResponsibleOhio has just received approval from the Ohio Ballot Board to begin collecting signatures for another marijuana-related proposal. The Fresh Start Act would allow Ohioans convicted of pot offenses to petition the courts to have their records expunged. Critics say that idea is redundant and that convicted offenders can already have those records sealed. (jj)
Previous: ResponsibleOhio submits signatures for ballot 6/30/15
Organizers of the ResponsbleOhio initiative needed to submit 305,000+ valid signatures in order to have their marijuana legalization measure qualify for November’s ballot. Today they submitted 695,000. From this point the secretary of state will send the signatures back to each of the 72 counties in which they were collected. Officials there will determine how many signatures actually are valid. If the number is at least 305,591, the measure makes the ballot. The process is expected to take two to three weeks. (jj)
Previous: Ballot Board rules on ResponsibleOhio marijuana measure 3/20/15
The Ohio Ballot Board has now given its approval to a proposed amendment put forward by the group Responsible Ohio. If approved by voters, the measure would allow the sale of marijuana for medicinal and recreational use. It would also authorize the establishment of authorized growing sites in the state. The group now has about three months to gather nearly 305,000 valid signatures to secure a place on the November 3rd ballot. (jj)
Previous: DeWine says ‘yes’ to marijuana proposal 3/13/15
This time…he said “yes.”
After finding reasons to object to similar measures that have come his way recently, today Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine gave his approval to a proposed amendment that would allow the sale of marijuana for medicinal and recreational use. It would also authorize the establishment of authorized growing sites in the state. To be clear, DeWine is not endorsing the idea; he is only certifying that the language in the proposal fairly and truthfully represents the measure. The petition now goes to the Ohio Ballot Board.
ResponsibleOhio, the group behind the proposal, hopes to have the issue in front of voters either this year or next. (jj)
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