A Montana pro-cannabis group has filed a complaint seeking a temporary suspension of the in-person signature-gathering requirement for ballot measures amid the COVID-19 pandemic, to allow the collection of electronic signatures.
The complaint was filed April 6 by New Approach Montana in the state's First Judicial District Court, Lewis and Clark County. It asks for "temporary authority, for purposes of the current election cycle only . . . to obtain electronic signatures in support" of its recreational marijuana ballot initiatives filed earlier this year. The group also seeks to extend the deadline for submitting signatures from June 19 to August 3.
Pepper Petersen, political director for New Approach Montana, told Tax Notes April 16 that Montana allows for electronic notarization required in the signature gathering process for initiatives but does not allow for electronic signatures.
Noting a March 26 shelter-in-place order issued by Gov. Steve Bullock (D), the group's complaint says "it is neither ethical nor permitted under the terms of the Governor’s executive orders and directives" to obtain in-person signatures for ballot measures.
The group also argues that enforcement of the statutory provisions requiring in-person signatures for ballot initiatives would violate the “constitutional rights of Plaintiffs and the people of Montana to amend the constitution and enact laws by initiative, as well as the rights of Plaintiffs and the people of Montana under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution.”
The campaign's ballot initiatives, filed for review with the secretary of state on January 13, would legalize marijuana for adults 21 and older, impose a 20 percent sales tax on marijuana, and amend the state constitution to allow the State Legislature or the voters to establish the minimum age for marijuana consumption as 21, according to a January 13 release.
The group will have to gather over 25,468 signatures to get the statutory initiative on the ballot and 50,936 signatures to qualify the constitutional initiative.
The group argues that it should be allowed to gather electronic signatures under the state’s Uniform Electronic Transactions Act. According to the complaint, the group has entered into a contract with DocuSign, a company that processes transactions with electronic signatures.
A telephonic hearing has been set for April 28, according to Petersen. He said he feels confident that the group will get a positive outcome, adding that Montana is “a very pragmatic state.”