UPDATE Judge’s Ruling on SB-423 Injunction June 30, 2011 PDF UPDATE
UPDATE: STOP, Repeal of the Montana Medical Marijuana Act SB423 Petition / Signature Drive June 10, 2011 UPDATE
Attention!!!
Montana Cannabis patients, caregivers, activists, freedom fighters, you are receiving this email because you are aware of the critical state that Montana’s Medical Marijuana law is in.
We are recruiting the troops for signature–gathering volunteers.
We need House District Captains ALL OVER THE STATE.
We need County Captains ALL OVER THE STATE.
Now is the time YOU need to step up and work for your safe access to cannabis. NOW. Not a week from now, not a month from now.
If you can fill one of these positions in your area, PLEASE RESPOND TO THIS EMAIL IMMEDIATELY
County Captain:
- Primary Liaison with County Election Official Acquires From County Individual District Maps and Boundaries;
- Provides Copy to District Captain,
- Collects Signed Petitions from District Captains,
- Tracks/Files Petition Pages To/From County, Photocopy ALL Petitions Prior To Submission,
- Works With District Captains To Identify Local Tactics & Strategies; Locations To Collect Signatures,
- Cross Reference Signatures With Voter Database
District Captain:
- Coordinates & Insures Training of ALL District Petition Gatherers,
- Insures Notary Stamp on ALL Submitted Petitions,
- Provides County Captain with Notarized Petitions,
- Tracks Signatures Submitted to County, Follows Up Daily With Petition Gatherers,
- Identify 1 or 2 Notaries Prior to Campaign
Petition Signature Gatherer:
- Personally responsible for collecting signatures,
- Obtaining a notary signature for petitions submitted
Rose Habib
MTCIA volunteer coordinator
Petition-list mailing list
The Process
Here is a quick guide to the steps and pitfalls in this important effort.
- The Secretary of State received the proposed referendum petition on May 13th, 2011.
- The Secretary of State’s office will send the proposed text to Legislative Services for review. They have 14 days to respond to the MTCIA.
- The MTCIA will respond to Legislative Services and send final text to Secretary of State.
- The Secretary of State forwards the final text to Attorney General.
- The Attorney General has 30 days to review and approve the language of the petition.
- During this time, training begins statewide for signature gatherers, notaries and other volunteers. If you want to be a signature gatherer, email petition@mtcia.org.
- The Attorney General’s office provides a sample petition to MTCIA for circulation.
- Petitions are circulated, signatures are gathered according to strict rules and checked daily.
- Signed petitions are notarized and submitted to county election office for verification.
- Verified petitions are forwarded to Secretary of State to determine if SB423 is rejected and submitted to voters at the next general election.
The process of gathering signatures seems straightforward, but it’s easy to make big mistakes that can work against us. Referendum drives have come under attack through the courts and have been made more complicated by new laws over the past four years. We will need to be ready for the inevitable legal challenges. Remember, some of our opponents are zealots and sadly, we should expect dirty tricks. It is critical we get this right the very first time!
Some easy mistakes to avoid:
- Gathering signatures before the petitions are ready.
- Using signature-gatherers who are untrained.
- Assuming our opponents will play fair.
- Assuming signatures will not be challenged in court.
Montana BioTech 