A Florida lawyer decided to sue Broward County when a woman from the Miami-area realized that her ballot was missing the amendment to legalize medical pot. The woman received an absentee ballot, missing the state’s Amendment 2 option, earlier this month in Broward County. The amendment is asking voters to up or down vote on legalizing the medical use of marijuana. Amendment 2 was brought about after a similar measure was voted down by a slim margin in 2014.
That measure had 58% of residents supporting it. For this amendment to pass, more than 60% of voters need to approve. The Florida Chamber of Commerce took a poll in late September which showed a 73% approval rating of Amendment 2. This woman was not the only resident to receive an absentee ballot without a contentious medical marijuana initiative. Many Florida voters have reported receiving absentee ballots lacking the marijuana initiative.
A pro-marijuana campaign manager was told that the ballots missing Amendment 2 were most likely test ballots. However, the lawyer is trying to get an emergency court hearing on Monday regarding this issue. The lawyer decided to file against Broward county stating that the absence of this amendment option for voters would deny residents their constitutional rights and cause permanent damage. The lawyer does not know exactly how many people were affected by this, but he has received multiple calls about this concern.
This is a very concerning issue to many because early voting in Florida begins on Monday. Florida is not new to issues such as this, as ballot problems became a national issue in the 2000 recount. In addition, voting has already started in some states such as North Carolina. Issues like Amendment 2 could be occurring throughout the country which could lead to major issues in this upcoming election.