Redistricting, recreational marijuana petitions unlikely to make ballot, organizers say shares email

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Call it unintended consequences. But organizers of two initiative petitions say COVID-19 and the ensuing fallout of the outbreak will likely make it impossible to qualify petitions for statewide ballot this year. Organizers of State Question 807, which seeks to legalize recreational marijuana and implement some criminal justice reforms, and State Question 810, which seeks to establish an independent redistricting commission, say the global pandemic has complicated the signature-gathering process. “It’s really difficult, if not impossible, to imagine a scenario in which an initiative petition campaign could responsibly and feasibly collect the signatures necessary in order to make the 2020 ballot if that campaign doesn’t already have the signatures on hand," said Ryan Kiesel, a proponent of SQ 807.