JUDGE KEEPS D.C. MARIJUANA VOTE UNDER WRAPS

A federal judge kept the results of the District of Columbia's Nov. 3
medical marijuana initiative under wraps yesterday, at least for the time
being.

U.S. District Judge Richard Roberts declined to order the D.C. Board of
Elections and Ethics to release the results of the initiative. Instead, he
said he would issue a written ruling.

Congress attached an amendment to the D.C. budget in October barring the
district government from spending any money to conduct the initiative. The
ballots had already been printed, but the board of elections interpreted
the spending prohibition to include everything from tallying the votes to
certifying them.

Checked-by: Richard Lake