MARIJUANA INITIATIVE BACKERS SUE TO GET ON STATE BALLOT

Denied: Enough Signatures Were Gathered, But Leman Disallowed Thousands.

Backers of a drive to legalize marijuana sued the state Tuesday, claiming
the Division of Elections unconstitutionally denied residents the right to
get their initiative on the ballot.

The lawsuit asks for a court order putting the initiative to decriminalize
pot on the ballot. Sponsors submitted signatures in November for an
initiative, but Lt. Gov. Loren Leman tossed out the petition two weeks ago,
ruling that hundreds of signatures collected were invalid.

At the time, he said the pro-marijuana group would have to start the drive
all over again to get the measure on the 2004 ballot.

But attorney Kenneth Jacobus, who represents the plaintiffs, said Leman
denied the petition based on an administrative technicality.

"If they're registered voters, the signatures ought to be counted," he
said. Jacobus also represents the Alaska Republican Party. The plaintiffs
are Tim Hinterberger, Alvin Anders and Scot Dunnachie, all of whom were
involved in the initiative drive.

Sponsors say they submitted 484 petition signature books with more than
50,000 signatures. The state denied 194 of the signature books, which meant
only 21,737 of the 28,782 signatures needed were certified, according to
the lawsuit.

Many booklets were denied because people who collected signatures didn't
turn in a sponsor accountability report, which lists the booklets and the
people who have them, Jacobus said. But the lawsuit contends a Division of
Elections employee told the sponsors they didn't have to turn in the reports.

"Each time the signature of a registered voter is rejected by the state of
Alaska, that voter is unconstitutionally deprived of the right to
participate in the initiative process," the lawsuit says.

Leman said he had not seen a copy of the lawsuit. He added that he had
confidence in the division employees and their ability to count.

Sarah Felix, an assistant attorney general, denied that an elections
official would say the report wasn't necessary.

And the accountability report is a valid, constitutional requirement, she said.

"One of the main purposes of the accountability report is to assure that
these petitions are being circulated in person by the individual who took
responsibility for the petition," Felix said. "This is a serious process.
It's the process that leads up to making a law. It has to be carefully
regulated."

But Jacobus said people should be fined for not turning in reports, not
denied the right to petition completely.

"It's real simple," he said. "If you turn in enough signatures in the time
period, you get on the ballot."