LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – The trial to determine whether a petition drive on the issue of medical marijuana secured enough valid signatures to go before Nebraska voters began Tuesday.
Attorneys for Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana and the Nebraska Secretary of State’s Office, along with former Nebraskan politician John Kuehn’s counsel, convened in district court for the first session of a potentially bifurcated trial.
At odds are roughly 100,000 signatures between both medical marijuana ballot petitions. The signatures were called into question by Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers and Secretary of State Bob Evnen after a petition circulator and notary were charged in recent weeks.
Hilgers’ office alleges that thousands of signatures were notarized by notaries outside the presence of their circulator, and now prosecutors aim to prove it happened and that it should therefore disqualify both medical marijuana petitions.
“Cheating is a choice,” Zach Viglianco, an attorney representing Evnen said. “The evidence in this case will show that the ballot sponsors and a material, a significant, number of petition circulators and notaries associated with these campaigns made that choice here. The choice they made is an unfortunate one, but it’s not one that can be ignored.”
Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana submitted roughly 114,000 signatures for both of its petitions in legalization and regulation. Of those signatures, nearly 90,000 were accepted by the Secretary of State — pushing them beyond the needed 86,499 signatures in 2024.
“Even if you found that there were errors with every single one of the signatures that they are going to talk about, that is not enough to strike either initiative from the ballot,” Sydney Hayes, an attorney representing the ballot sponsors, said. “So what are they relying on? The only way they win in this case, the only way Secretary Evnen and the plaintiff prevail is by imputing notary errors from a few documents to invalidate tens of thousands of other signatures.”
Evnen certified both medical marijuana ballot initiatives, and they will appear on the ballot for the 2024 general election. If passed by voters next week, one would legalize medical marijuana and the other would regulate it.
Initially, only 202 signatures were positively implicated and pulled from the final signature count — which remained above the threshold needed for certification. The prosecution alleges its findings impact petitions collected in at least 71 of Nebraska’s 93 counties and implicates seven notaries and three petition-gatherers.
Authorities in Hall County have charged a petition circulator and the man who notarized his signatures. The notary public has since filed to have his case tossed, arguing that notaries public are not public officials and are subject to civil penalties under statute.
While voters might approve the initiatives at the ballot box next week, medical marijuana could be revoked should Judge Susan Strong conclude enough signatures were implicated and therefore invalid.
The trial, which Judge Strong agreed to bifurcate, runs through Thursday and Friday. Should Judge Strong find that the prosecution met its burden of proof, another trial will be ordered at a future date for the medical marijuana sponsors to defend themselves.
That trial would likely be held some time after the general election on Nov. 5. 6 News WOWT contributed to this story.
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The trial to determine whether or not medical marijuana could be implemented in Nebraska after an apparently successful signature drive began Tuesday. Read More