Pubdate: Sat, 17 Aug 2002
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Copyright: 2002 The Washington Post Company
Contact:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/491

MARIJUANA ACTIVISTS URGE BALLOT REVIEW

Representatives of the Marijuana Policy Project yesterday asked the D.C. 
Board of Elections and Ethics to reconsider its decision to keep a medical 
marijuana initiative off the November ballot.

This month, the board ruled that the group failed to gather enough valid 
signatures to place an initiative on the general election ballot that would 
decriminalize the medical use of marijuana. The group's appeal said the 
board had made "massive errors" that resulted in the rejection of thousands 
of petition signatures. It asked for a review of those signatures.

The group needed to submit 17,455 signatures, which represent 5 percent of 
the city's registered voters, and within that pool, had to include 5 
percent of the registered voters in five of the city's eight wards. The 
election board ruled that although the Marijuana Policy Project passed the 
first threshold, it fell 122 signatures short of meeting the 5 percent 
requirement in one of the five wards.

Kenneth J. McGhie, the board's general counsel, said the District's 
registrar of voters would examine the contested signatures.
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MAP posted-by: Alex