Backers confident of pot petition

Thursday, Sept. 2, 2004 | 9:37 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- While disappointed by the latest development in its ongoing quest, a group supporting the marijuana initiative petition is predicting that voters will get to cast their ballots on the issue in November.

Secretary of State Dean Heller said Wednesday that a recount of the petition showed the organization had 49,412 signatures of registered voters, or 1,925 short of the required 51,337.

Jennifer Knight, director of communications for the Committee to Regulate and Control Marijuana, said it believes it will win its case in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, a victory that would result in 2,300 extra votes. That would be enough to put the issue on the election ballot.

The appeals court has indicated it will rule before Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the secretary of state's office said the initiative petition to bar public employees from serving in the Legislature also failed. It ended up with 44,548 signatures in the second recount of the petition.

George Harris, president of Nevadans for Sound Government that promoted the petition, said other avenues are being examined to get the issue on the ballot. "If the petition is dead, we are still going to make sure there is integrity in the process."

The secretary of state's office earlier said the petition to repeal the $833.5 million tax increase was 1,600 short of the required 51,337 and does not qualify for the election ballot.

District Judge Bill Maddox on Wednesday dismissed the suit of the Nevada Taxpayers Association that sought to keep the tax petition off the ballot. He said the validity of the referendum petition is "not ripe for decision," since the issue doesn't have enough signatures to qualify for the ballot.

Joel Hansen, attorney for Nevadans for Sound Government that sponsored the repeal petition, said of the judge's decision: "We won," noting that Judge Maddox also ruled that the taxpayers association did not have standing to sue.

Hansen said his group will file an appeal today (Thursday) in the Secretary of State's office that the petition should be on the ballot. Supporters of the tax repeal were given an extra 35 days by District Judge Ken Cory to gather signatures because of their allegations they were hampered in circulating the petitions at government buildings.

Hansen said Clark County Voter Registrar Larry Lomax testified at the hearing before Cory that he had to have all of the signatures in by July 20 to complete the counting process. He said it is now Sept. 1 and they are still counting. He said his group deserved an added five to ten days to get the signatures and that they were coming in at 1,000 a day.

Representatives for the marijuana and public employees initiatives complained about the recount process in Washoe County.

The marijuana petition had 14,117 registered voters after the first count in Washoe County. After a full count of all the petitions, it ended up with 12,685. The public employees prohibition ended up with 3,985 in Washoe County after getting credit for 4,818 in the first tally.

Knight said "there were "substantial fundamental flaws in Washoe's verification system."

There were computer glitches in Washoe County and temporary county workers did not seem to be concentrating on the recount. They were required to perform other duties such as answering the telephones while verifying signatures. And election officials never double-checked the signatures that were rejected.

She said that problem did not occur in Clark County.

Harris said the recounting problems were "most egregious" in Washoe County. The experienced county employees were not used but temporary workers were brought in. "There was inexperience and incompetence," in Washoe County, Harris said.

Knight said the issue before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals involves 2,300 persons who registered to vote the same day they signed the petition to allow adults to possess one ounce of marijuana.

These voter registrations were not turned in the same day but were delayed in being presented to the registrar of voters. So these signatures were disqualified.

The signatures of those registering to vote had to be turned in the same day as they signed the petition or postmarked the same day. That precluded circulators from turning in signatures and voter registrations on Sunday because the Post Office does not postmark mail on that day.

"This has been the most tumultuous election cycle that I can remember, and it didn't have to be this way if election officials and the secretary of state's office would have applied some consistency to the process."

The Nevada Supreme Court is considering the challenges to two initiative petitions involving raising the minimum wage and prohibiting a limitation on awards in tort suits. District Judge Bill Maddox ruled Wednesday that independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader could be on the state's general election ballot.