cannabisnews.com: Marijuana Measure Still Has A Chance





Marijuana Measure Still Has A Chance
Posted by CN Staff on November 24, 2004 at 08:38:51 PT
By Kelly Paik, Contribution Writer
Source: Daily Californian
Berkeley’s medical marijuana measure, thought to be defeated in November’s election, could still pass if enough uncounted absentee and provisional ballots vote for the measure. Measure R, which aims to abolish the city’s current limits on medical marijuana possession for homes and dispensaries as well as set up a peer review committee to certify any new dispensaries, received a 48.8 percent ‘yes’ vote on election night, a number that has since risen to 49.8 percent after a tally of more than 8,000 recorded ballots in the weeks following the election, said Bradley Clark, Alameda County registrar of voters.
Clark said about two hundred more ‘yes’ votes are needed to change the tide for Measure R—and the county is still recording votes from provisional ballots. These remaining ballots are from voters who voted in the wrong polling place and must be manually recounted, said Elaine Ginnold, assistant registrar of voters in Alameda County. Members of the Yes on Measure R campaign expressed hope that the measure may be resurrected. “We are observing the counting,” said Dege Coutee, campaign manager for Yes on Measure R. But Clark said he did not expect the remaining provisional ballots to be enough to change the outcome. Though the county does not know exactly how many provisional ballots are left, Clark said there were too few ballots left to make the passage of the measure likely. “I don’t anticipate that it will change,” he said. But with the results so close, members of the Yes on Measure R campaign may ask the county for a recount if the measure does not pass, Coutee said. The group’s desire for a recount stems from fears that even a small mistake in the count could cost them the election, she said. “We can’t afford to make any mistakes,” Coutee said. “We want to make sure every vote is counted accurately.” In California, any agent demanding a recount of votes must pay for the cost of the recount, which averages $3,000 the first day and about $2,000 each following day, Clark said. Agents must file a request within five days of certification of the election with specifications on how they wish the recount to be conducted, he said. Counting could be completed by Tuesday and a final outcome will be released by Nov. 30, Ginnold said. Coutee praised the measure’s abolition of limits because it would give patients the freedom to grow more marijuana if they and their doctors felt they needed it. “Patients need to be able to grow as much (marijuana) as they need with out inadvertently breaking a law,” Coutee said. The measure would also end the public hearings currently required for permit approval—possibly making it easier for dispensaries to obtain the necessary zoning permits for operation. But that point was rendered moot last month when City Council instated a quota of three dispensaries in the city. The city already has three official medical marijuana clubs. But more important than the reforms to current law, Coutee said, is the hope that the measure could bring a greater respect for dispensaries from city officials and residents. “It is not important that new clubs open as much as current clubs get recognition as legitimate places,” Coutee said. Note: Absentee, Provisional Ballots Could Reverse Decision on Measure R.Source: Daily Californian, The (CA Edu)Author: Kelly Paik, Contribution WriterPublished: Wednesday, November 24, 2004Copyright: 2004 The Daily CalifornianContact: dailycal dailycal.orgWebsite: http://www.dailycal.org/CannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on December 14, 2004 at 20:11:57 PT
Related Article from The Berkeley Daily Planet
Measure R Recount Begins, Could Cost Backers $20,000 By J. Douglas Allen-TaylorTuesday, December 14, 2004A requested recount of Berkeley’s medical marijuana Measure R vote could cost the Yes On R Committee about $21,000, according to an estimate by a representative of the Alameda County Registrar of Voters office.
The Yes On R Committee made the recount request last week, and recounting has already started. Assistant Registrar of Voters Elaine Ginnold gave a “rough estimate” that it would take a week to “sort out the ballots” and another week to do the actual counting.Recount costs in California are $3,000 for the first day and $2,000 for each subsequent day.The ballots to be recounted are 22,631 absentee ballots as well as 6,714 provisional ballots cast by paper on election day. The remaining roughly 31,500 votes were cast on computerized touch-screen voting machines. Measure R proponents could have asked for a manual recount of printouts of the touch-screen votes of each voter. Instead, the group opted simply to have the machines re-run their internal vote tallies.Measure R—which would have raised the number of medical marijuana plants allowed in the possession of users and would have made it easier for medical marijuana clubs to relocate in Berkeley—lost by 191 votes out of more than 50,000 votes cast in the Nov. 2 election.That margin of difference—0.38 percent—would have triggered a mandatory, county-funded recount in 14 states, including Florida. However, California is one of 21 states that require parties requesting recounts to pay for those recounts. If the recount reverses the results of the election, the money is refunded to the requesting party.Representatives of the Yes On R campaign were not available for comment. Copyright: 2004 Berkeley Daily Planethttp://www.berkeleydaily.org/text/article.cfm?issue=12-14-04&storyID=20288
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