Votes to expand medical cannabis in Arkansas will not be counted after the State Supreme Court ruled that the measure didn’t fully explain what it would do, the Associated Press reports. The decision comes just two weeks before the election but too late to remove the proposal from ballots.
Justice Shawn Womack, writing for the majority, said the measure did not fully inform voters that it would have stripped the ability of lawmakers to change the 2016 constitutional amendment to legalize medical cannabis in the state.
“This decision doomed the proposed ballot title, and it is plainly misleading.” — Womack in the decision
The 4-3 decision by the court also said the measure did not inform voters that, if approved, the amendment would legalize up to an ounce of cannabis possession for any purpose if cannabis were legalized federally.
In a dissent, Justice Cody Hiland said the court was ignoring precedent by ruling the measure’s wording was misleading.
“Long ago, this court established definitive standards for evaluating the sufficiency of popular names and ballot titles,” Hiland wrote. “This court has not deviated from those standards until today.”
In a statement, Arkansans for Patient Access, the group behind the measure, said they are “deeply disappointed” by the decision, adding that “It seems politics has triumphed over legal precedent.”
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