Supporters of a recreational marijuana ballot proposal in Florida are racing against a crucial deadline of February 1, 2024. The political committee, Smart & Safe Florida, has filed a lawsuit accusing Governor Ron DeSantis’ administration of failing to comply with state law regarding the verification of petition signatures. The lawsuit, submitted in Leon County circuit court, seeks to compel Cord Byrd, the Secretary of State, to update the number of valid signatures on a weekly basis, as required by law.
The lawsuit asserts that the number of valid petition signatures has remained unchanged at 675,307 since November 23, 2023. Smart & Safe Florida claims it has submitted over 1 million signatures to county elections supervisors and believes that more than 700,000 petitions have been verified. Under current regulations, the committee needs at least 880,062 valid signatures to qualify for the November ballot.
According to the lawsuit, “Without timely reported data from the state, Smart & Safe is essentially flying blind as to its ballot placement status.” The committee emphasizes that this lack of updated information hampers its ability to effectively mobilize resources to meet the necessary requirements.
Legal Disputes and Election Integrity Concerns
Florida law mandates that local supervisors of elections and Byrd’s office publish updated counts of valid signatures weekly since December 1, 2023. The failure to provide this data, the committee argues, undermines their campaign efforts. Jonathan Sjostrom, the presiding circuit judge, has expedited the case schedule to address these urgent concerns, with additional briefings required by the end of the week.
The legal challenges extend beyond the signatures. In a separate ruling, Judge Sjostrom found that state election officials improperly invalidated nearly 42,000 petitions signed by “inactive” voters. However, the court did uphold a directive to invalidate nearly 29,000 petitions collected by out-of-state petition gatherers. Both sides are appealing parts of this decision to the 1st District Court of Appeal.
As the February 1 deadline approaches, election supervisors are facing mounting pressures due to conflicting directives from Byrd’s office regarding petition validation processes. David Ramba, executive director of the Florida Supervisors of Elections association, expressed concerns about the increasing complexity of managing these directives, stating, “We’re literally going through boxes of the same petitions over and over again.”
Fraud Investigation Escalates
In a related development, James Uthmeier, the Attorney General, announced a significant escalation in the investigation into election fraud associated with the recreational marijuana initiative. His office has launched 46 new criminal investigations and issued four subpoenas aimed at uncovering potentially fraudulent activities linked to Smart & Safe Florida and its affiliates.
The investigations revealed that approximately 50 petition circulators submitted 14,500 petitions raising significant concerns, including 7,100 that were validated. Uthmeier’s office has already arrested or issued warrants for nine circulators and anticipates further arrests in the coming weeks. The subpoenas aim to clarify whether any broader organizational misconduct exists beyond the individual circulators.
In response to the allegations, Smart & Safe Florida stated that it has been transparent in reporting discrepancies and has adhered to legal requirements when handling petitions. The organization also commented, “We will, of course, continue to work with the state to ensure anyone who appears to be committing fraud is immediately terminated and promptly reported to the state.”
In the midst of these developments, Uthmeier’s office is urging the Florida Supreme Court to determine that the proposed constitutional amendment does not meet the necessary criteria for inclusion on the November ballot. The court is scheduled to hear arguments related to this case on February 5, 2024.
As the situation unfolds, both the committee and state officials find themselves navigating a complex legal landscape that will ultimately shape the future of recreational marijuana use in Florida. The outcome of these proceedings could have significant implications for voter initiatives and election integrity in the state.
