Throw out medical pot petitions

Nebraska’s top election official said in a court filing he believes a review of signatures on two petitions circulated by Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana should result in the matters being pulled from the ballot.

For the second time in as many weeks, Secretary of State Bob Evnen on Thursday asked a court to remove a pair of ballot measures before they can be considered by voters.

The abrupt turn comes as a Lancaster County District Court judge considers a lawsuit brought by a former state senator and anti-marijuana advocate that seeks to strike the medical marijuana petitions from the ballot a second time.

Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, who qualified petitions that would enact laws legalizing cannabis for medical use and creating regulations for them, said the lawsuit should be thrown out.

A hearing for the case is scheduled for 2 p.m. Friday afternoon in Lancaster County District Court.

The lawsuit from John Kuehn, a former state senator from Heartwell, sought to bar Evnen from certifying the results of the initiatives on the Nov. 5 election.

In July, Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana submitted more than 114,000 signatures on each of its two petitions. Last week, Evnen said the petitions had met both requirements outlined in state statute.

Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana collected valid signatures from 5% of voters in 52 counties, more than the 38 required, Evnen’s office said, along with 7% of all registered voters in the state.

But Kuehn, in an amended complaint filed earlier this week following a review of the petitions obtained through a public records request, alleged Evnen’s office “illegally counted” more than 3,400 signatures during the review.

Had those signatures been ruled invalid, Kuehn argued both petitions would have fallen short of the 86,499 valid signature number needed to meet the 7% requirement, but he said he believes more than 17,000 signatures are invalid.

According to Kuehn’s complaint, more than 2,433 signatures were from individuals who are not registered to vote in Nebraska; 411 had incorrect birthdates; 134 did not include addresses; 67 were duplicates; 60 were signed before the campaign launched; 568 were invalid because the circulator was not in the presence of the notary.

Kuehn also alleged that more than 13,000 signatures should be thrown out because the circulator did not disclose whether they were paid or a volunteer.

The co-chair of Smart Approaches to Marijuana Nebraska — which has opposed the petitions in previous election cycles — said charges announced by Attorney General Mike Hilgers against a circulator who allegedly falsified signatures last week lead him to believe “additional invalidities will be identified.”

Michael Egbert, a Grand Island man who began collecting signatures in February, allegedly forged names he found in a phone book on dozens of petitions, Hall County Attorney Martin Klein said last week.

Evnen, who is represented by Hilgers in the case, defended the work of his office and that of county election officials charged with reviewing signatures submitted by petition circulators.

During a press conference last week, Evnen said county election officials validated more than 600,000 signatures for six different initiatives and referenda that were submitted earlier this year.

“The counties did a remarkable job of confirming the validity of the signatures found to be valid,” Evnen said.

But in a cross-claim filed with his answer to Kuehn’s lawsuit, the secretary asked for the judge to rule the petitions circulated by Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana “legally insufficient” and to remove them from the ballot or declared void and not counted.

Evnen said while he certified both petitions on Sept. 13, he acknowledged Hilgers’ investigation was ongoing and “if more evidence of fraud, malfeasance, or substantial irregularities was uncovered, it could result in one or both of the petitions” being thrown out by the court.

That investigation has continued, Evnen’s court filing states, though it does not indicate if any further invalid signatures have been found.

“Considered in tandem,” with Kuehn’s allegations of irregularities, Evnen said Hilgers’ investigation gives rise “to significant uncertainty regarding the validity of some signatures” collected by Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana.

In its own response, Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana said the lawsuit was intentionally filed late to limit its time to prepare an adequate defense.

Attorney Daniel Gutman, who represents Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, campaign manager Crista Eggers, and Sen. Anna Wishart and former Sen. Adam Morfeld, both of Lincoln, said allowing the case to move to trial next week — as requested by Kuehn — would not allow the campaign to conduct discovery, consult with experts, or follow other court rules.

“An attempt to invalidate thousands of signatures of Nebraska voters should not be rushed…in a manner that precludes necessary discovery and prevents (Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana) from fairly presenting a defense of the initiatives,” Gutman wrote.

Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana asked Judge Susan Strong to dismiss the case.