The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) has arrested two paid canvassers for allegedly falsifying signatures on petitions to put an adult-use cannabis legalization on the state’s 2024 ballot, Marijuana Moment reports. FDLE said it also arrested a third canvasser who was petitioning for a gambling-related initiative.
Officials did not disclose how many fraudulent signatures had been submitted by the canvassers but said that there were “dozens” of affected petitions submitted for the state’s cannabis legalization and gambling-related initiatives.
“The Florida Constitution is a sacred document by which Florida’s government, voters and citizens are adjudicated. Florida Law lays out a detailed process by which issues can be submitted to Florida’s voters for consideration before they are added to Florida’s Constitution.” – Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd, in a statement
“To fraudulently misappropriate this process for personal gain is not only illegal but also violates the trust of law-abiding Floridians across the state,” Byrd said.
A spokesperson for the Smart & Safe Florida legalization campaign told Marijuana Moment it is “fully supportive” of the investigation, that it intends to cooperate with any law enforcement requests, and — if the allegations are substantiated — that “we hope the individuals involved are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” according to the report.
A recent poll found that about 67% of Florida voters would support the bid to legalize adult-use cannabis.
The campaign was challenged in August by Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody as potentially breaking the state’s single-subject rule for ballot initiatives but the state Supreme Court ruled recently in the campaign’s favor.
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