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News & ArtsWednesday, June 30, 2010
Politics Pot Initiative Set to Turn in (Some) Signatures
Posted by Eli Sanders on Wed, Jun 30, 2010 at 5:47 PM
And guess what time the I-1068 backers chose for their appointment with the Secretary of State on Friday?
4:20 p.m.
Dude. So awesome.
But here's the problem:
"Organizers said they have already tallied about 200,000 signatures and have been getting a lot of petitions back in the mail every day," said Secretary of State spokesman Dave Ammons. "The bare minimum is 241,153 valid signatures of registered Washington voters."
That's more than 40,000 valid signatures from registered Washington voters that need to be received in the mail over the next day or so.
Plus, these all need to be valid signatures, which is why the Secretary of State suggests building in a cushion by turning in at least 300,000 signatures for any serious initiative. It doesn't sound like I-1068 will have that kind of cushion, which means—despite what you may have heard about me being a dumb motherfucker on these matters—that this initiative is unlikely to get on the November ballot.
1
They're picking them up if you go to Bill's Off Broadway until 7:30 pm (at least that's what I recall).
Even if you only have ONE signature on them.
Come on, people - dueling initiatives for Pot and Booze!
Party DOWN!
Even if you only have ONE signature on them.
Come on, people - dueling initiatives for Pot and Booze!
Party DOWN!
2
I want to sign a petition for this... I never saw any around in north seattle or the international district.
3
I can't believe those (well meaning <3 ) dolts placed their signature sheets in the Stranger this last wednesday. They REALLY should have done it much earlier, they would have made out better.
4
Way to pat yourself on the back for your predictive prowess, and avoid any attempt at journalistic inquiry on the matter.
As someone who gladly worked many hours, and pounded the pavement, paying my own contributions towards this effort, I am not impressed by your insensitive and self-congratulatory tone.
Sure, some inarticulate douchebag took out his frustrations on you over the difficult and frustrating nature of such a campaign on your voicemail box. No reason to half-ass your reporting, or to avoid at least some semblance of regard for those who are less than thrilled at the news that we just barely made it.
It was the right thing to do, and if I had it to do over again. Damn that I have to, but I will.
As someone who gladly worked many hours, and pounded the pavement, paying my own contributions towards this effort, I am not impressed by your insensitive and self-congratulatory tone.
Sure, some inarticulate douchebag took out his frustrations on you over the difficult and frustrating nature of such a campaign on your voicemail box. No reason to half-ass your reporting, or to avoid at least some semblance of regard for those who are less than thrilled at the news that we just barely made it.
It was the right thing to do, and if I had it to do over again. Damn that I have to, but I will.
5
I'm glad the petition campaign season is just about over. I was asked if I wanted to end government monopoly on liquor sales by a man at a small table with a petition and said "I cannot sign petitions without risking penalties or jail time." He said "Thanks for your opinion." Like it's my opinion to follow the law. Like signing a petition illegally would still make my signature valid.
6
Going to echo what @2 and maybe @4 are saying. Without a private lobby out there to sponsor petition signing (chemical council, liquor companies, bill gates' daddy, etc.) a quarter of a million signatures is A LOT. I only ever saw the pot backers setup once downtown.
7
This is a lot of signatures when you consider that major sponsors reneged at the start of signature gathering and that the state democrats only cynically endorsed the effort last weekend. I mean come on, last weekend? In other words, the initiative could have easily made the ballot if the groups who supposedly support it supported it in actuality.
8
typical pothead level organization. i've been trying to sign one of these and seeking it out for a week with no luck. great work kids.
9
@8 I guess you didn't put down the pipe long enough yourself to go to their website and inform yourself on where to go to sign or how to print out a copy of the petition yourself. Tsk.
11
@7 I have to correct you about the State Democratic Party -- the endorsement was not cynical at all.
The State Party can only endorse initiatives at its convention, which was held last weekend in Vancouver. The date of the convention has been fixed for some time -- long before the folks at Sensible Washington started their efforts.
@8
Guess you don't know how to use Google?
The State Party can only endorse initiatives at its convention, which was held last weekend in Vancouver. The date of the convention has been fixed for some time -- long before the folks at Sensible Washington started their efforts.
@8
Guess you don't know how to use Google?
12
sorry if they can't find me (or i can't find them) on the downtown streets that i walk every day, they aren't worth my time and probably have a shitty initiative anyway. you potheads want to legalize it so badly? i'm there to help, but put some effort into it.
13
i've signed it more than a dozen times with illegible or obviously fake information. and every time the petition-gatherer has taken the clipboard back, glanced at it, and thanked me.
really, do i look like bill clinton, donald duck, or christine gregoire? (ok, mybbe christine, only because of the gender).
really, do i look like bill clinton, donald duck, or christine gregoire? (ok, mybbe christine, only because of the gender).
14
@9 - good idea for getting 300k signatures. Have everyone go to the website for the initiative and try to hunt them down. Or better yet, print it out yourself! I can't see any possible holes in that plan.
15
@13: Knowingly putting false information on a petition is a crime. You are aware of that, right? You should also know that every signature under a fake one is invalidated, which especially hurts initiatives like this one where there isn't a big cushion of signatures to begin with. In conclusion, you're a shitty asshole. Fuck you and the horse you rode in on, bitch.
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