The city had told supporters of the marijuana penalty petition they needed 11,203 valid signatures to get their question on a ballot. They turned in more than 16,000 signatures by Monday’s deadline, thinking that provided a cushion for almost 5,000 invalid signatures…
When City Councilor Don Harris, a Republican from the east side, saw the 11,203 figure, he told city staff he thought it seemed low. A recalculation yielded a new requirement of 14,218 signatures, based on the number of voters in the last year’s mayoral election, which drew slightly more than 70,000 voters.
But by then, the deadline to gather signatures had passed. Pat Davis of ProgressNow New Mexico, which backs the proposal, called the error “shenanigans” and said it’s “absolutely not” fair to change the number now. - Albuquerque Journal editorial, Aug. 1, 2014
Tell the Albuquerque City Council to pass the resolution to let ABQ voters cast a ballot:
Edit this letter with your own comments, or send it as-is before Monday's city council meeting.
