Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, which is moving forward with a grassroots effort to get two medical cannabis legalization initiatives on the state’s November ballot after losing two of its major donors, has now sued the state to ease its ballot requirements.
The group filed a lawsuit May 16 that seeks to overturn a rule that requires petitioners to gather signatures from a large number of rural counties in the state, according to the Associated Press.
Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana collected the required number of valid signatures to get its medical cannabis legalization measure before voters in the 2020 election, but the Nebraska Supreme Court ultimately ruled that the ballot initiative violated the single-subject rule outlined in the state constitution.
Now, after filing two new medical cannabis initiatives with the Nebraska Secretary of State to get the issue before voters this November, the group must collect roughly 87,000 signatures by July 7.
The Nebraska Constitution requires the signatures to come from at least 5% of registered voters in 38 of the state’s 93 counties, AP reported, which is meant to prevent groups from collecting signatures only in larger cities.
Some have argued that the rule gives disproportionate power to the state’s smallest counties, according to the news outlet.
The lawsuit has been given to the state attorney general, a spokeswoman for Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen told AP.