South Dakota Marijuana Activists Issue 'Yellow Alert' For Signature Drive To Put Legalization On Ballot As Deadline Nears
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South Dakota activists say they're falling behind on signature gathering for a ballot initiative to legalize marijuana in the state—and they're urging supporters to step up their efforts to secure the remaining signatures ahead of a looming turn-in deadline next month. South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws (SDBML) held a press conference on Wednesday to give a status update on the campaign and convey the urgency of collecting the remaining signatures to give voters a chance to decide on reform after the legislature failed to enact it this year. Matthew Schweich, campaign director of SDBML, said that the campaign's conservative estimate of how many valid signatures they've currently processed is around 13,500. In order to qualify for the ballot, activists will need to submit 16,961 legitimate signatures from registered voters to the state by May 3. South Dakota voters already approved legalization during the 2020 election, but the reform was struck down by the state Supreme Court following a challenge from the governor's office. Schweich said that the court ruling was an "injustice," but "we can't change that." However, he said that "what we do have control over is getting on the ballot—so let's go get on the ballot." He said that this is not a "red alert" scenario for the campaign, but it is a "yellow alert." And to that end, he laid out ways that activists plan to make up the signature deficit over the next three weeks to get into a comfortable place to qualify. For one, the campaign has opened a petition hotline that people can call or text to learn about where they can go to add their signature. They're also encouraging people to volunteer to college signatures from others and are hiring paid petitioners, starting at $22 per hour. There will be signature gathering events in…
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Source : South Dakota Marijuana Activists Issue 'Yellow Alert' For Signature Drive To Put Legalization On Ballot As Deadline Nears
reposted by Cannabis News World
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