Editor's note: In a press release, David Boyer, campaign manager for the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, says:
“We are extremely pleased with the court’s decision to send our initiative back to the secretary of state for re-review. As was the case when we submitted our signatures to the secretary of state originally, we know that a sufficient number of registered voters signed the petition to qualify for the ballot. So this re-review should now be a mere formality. Once the Secretary of State’s Office has completed its work, we look forward to launching the formal part of our campaign and educating Maine voters about the benefits of regulating marijuana like alcohol.”
An effort to allow Maine residents to vote to legalize recreational marijuana use advanced on Friday when a judge overruled a state official's decision invalidating some of the signatures needed to get the initiative on the ballot.
The ruling came a month after Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap's office disqualified almost half of the 99,229 voter signatures gathered by marijuana activists, leaving the initiative without enough certified supporters needed to land a spot on the ballot.
The Secretary of State's office said it had invalidated the petitions over concerns that the signatures of notaries public on various forms submitted did not match up with versions on file in official state records.
The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol, a national group advocating for the referendum, appealed the state's decision last month, saying that officials had disenfranchised tens of thousands of Maine voters based on a "handwriting technicality."
Maine Business and Consumer Court Justice Michaela Murphy on Friday ruled the state used an "incorrect and improper standard" to invalidate the signatures.
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Maine Court Rules In Favor Of Marijuana Initiative Supporters
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