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Montana Ballot Campaign Has to Collect In-Person Signatures Despite COVID-19

Posted on May 4, 2020

A Montana group will have to continue to gather in-person signatures for its pro-marijuana ballot measures despite the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a state district court.

“We are obviously disappointed in the outcome of the case,” Pepper Petersen, political director for New Approach Montana, said in an April 30 e-mailed statement. “We are considering an appeal and are assessing all of our options on how to move forward.”

New Approach Montana's April 6 complaint asked to temporarily be allowed to obtain electronic signatures for its two recreational marijuana ballot initiatives filed earlier this year. It has contracted with DocuSign Inc., a firm that processes transactions involving electronic signatures. The group also asked to extend the deadline for submitting signatures from June 19 to August 3.

The group’s first initiative would legalize recreational marijuana for adults 21 and older, establish a regulatory framework for cannabis cultivation and sales, and impose a 20 percent sales tax on marijuana. The second one would amend the state constitution to allow the State Legislature or the voters to establish the minimum age for marijuana consumption as 21.

The state argued that the group could have started gathering signatures as early as June 2019 but waited until January and February to submit their ballot issues.

The Montana First Judicial District Court, Lewis and Clark County, denied the requests in an April 30 order, stating that “none of the Governor’s recent orders or directives specifically suspend ballot initiative petition gathering at this time.”

According to the court, the group could continue to collect in-person signatures before the June 19 deadline but could approach the governor’s office for relief since “the Governor is in the best position with his emergency authority to suspend certain laws.”

The group has to gather over 25,468 signatures to get the statutory initiative on the ballot and 50,936 signatures to qualify the constitutional initiative.

The court also found that New Approach Montana failed to consult with the secretary of state or with county clerks about the use of electronic signatures as required by the Montana Uniform Electronic Transactions Act.

According to the order, the group also failed to show that DocuSign met the act's requirements to provide “validity, authenticity, reliability, and security of the electronic transactions.”

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