Newswire
A sharply divided Florida Supreme Court on Monday cleared the way for voters to decide this fall whether Florida will join 20 other states in allowing the use of medical marijuana.
The 4-3 decision upheld the ballot language for the constitutional amendment, rejecting arguments from Attorney General Pam Bondi, legislative leaders and law enforcement officials who contended the proposal was misleading and, if approved by 60 percent of the voters, would lead to widespread marijuana use in the state.
Read More: here
The secretary of state’s office said Thursday it’s cleared the way for three proposed constitutional amendments to appear on the November ballot, despite questions about who has the authority to prepare the measures’ language under a new law.
Martha Adcock, general counsel for Secretary of State Mark Martin’s office, told lawmakers that the office decided to use language provided by the attorney general’s office and from legislation approved last year to prepare the proposals for the November ballot. A new law took away the attorney general’s authority to prepare the measures’ “popular names” that appear on the ballot.
Read more: here
Bernalillo County Treasurer Manny Ortiz faced two hours of stern questioning when he took the stand during his recall hearing Thursday.
But he had some good news afterward: The county’s Legal Department and Elections Bureau say it would take 82,436 signatures to force Ortiz into a recall election, far more than his opponents had expected.
The treasurer’s testimony came in a hearing before state District Judge Alan Malott.
Opponents of Ortiz are asking Malott to allow them to start the signature-gathering required to trigger a recall election. They’re trying to show “probable cause” that Ortiz committed malfeasance or misfeasance in office.
Two Ohio House Reps. pushed forward today on their proposal to implement statewide recall elections but openly acknowledged they are facing an uphill battle.
Rep. John Becker, a Republican from suburban Cincinnati, and Rep. Robert F. Hagan, a Democrat from Youngstown, held a press conference this morning to highlight a recently introduced House resolution that would allow for recall elections of all officials elected in Ohio — “from dogcatcher to governor” in Becker’s words.
The Dispatch first reported last week that the representatives were considering submitting the resolution, which was submitted to the House on Jan. 15.
Supporters of an independently elected Portland Public Water District filed 50,213 voter signatures with the City Auditor’s Office on Tuesday morning.
They need around 30,000 valid signatures to place their initiative measure on the May Primary Election ballot. The verification process could take several weeks.
“We are confident we are going to make it,” said Kent Craford, a former lobbyist and chief co-petitioner.
Read More: here
It appears opponents of the city of Sacramento’s subsidy to bring a new arena to downtown are a step closer to having voters decide.
The petition backed by the Sacramento Taxpayers Opposed to Pork, STOP, needed 22,000 valid signatures go get on the June ballot. According to the Sacramento County Voter Registrar’s Office, 22,498 signatures of the 34,532 submitted were validated, that’s 65.2 percent.
State lawmakers are moving to repeal major changes in voting laws made last year — and then reenacting at least some of them in a way to thwart a referendum drive.
The proposal from Rep. Eddie Farnsworth, R-Gilbert, comes after foes of those changes gathered enough signatures to put the measure on hold. And it will remain there until November when voters get to decide if they approve of what lawmakers have done.
HB 2196 would repeal the law, making the November vote unnecessary.
Read More: here
Here a ballot initiative, there a ballot initiative, everywhere in California a ballot initiative.
How did we get here? About a hundred years ago the processes of direct democracy spread across the country. States gave their citizens the ability to directly enact laws (via the ballot initiative), to directly repeal laws (via the referendum), and to oust elected officials (via the recall). The purpose of direct democracy is to empower average citizens and decrease the power than moneyed interests may have over elected officials. Sounds quaint, doesn’t it?
Ward 2 City Councilman Ed Shadid is advocating for two initiative petitions filed Jan. 2. The first calls for citywide vote to prohibit use of sales taxes for a new downtown convention center and hotel. The second would end the MAPS 3 sales tax in 2015, instead of 2018.
If both measures secure ballot status and gain voter approval, the result could mean a sales tax cut for residents. Supporters will have 90 days to gather 6,000 valid signatures for each petition.
Read More: here
It seems everywhere we turn these days, state bans on marriage for same-sex couples are falling. Eighteen American jurisdictions (17 states and the District of Columbia) now allow same-sex couples to wed on the same terms as opposite-sex couples. Here in Oregon, our constitutional exclusion of marriage for same-sex couples is being challenged both in court and at the ballot box.