GOVERNMENT AGAINST PETITION

With allegations of fraud in the 2004 election still unsatisfactorily
unexplained, Nevada's attorney general was attempting a preemptive strike
on the 2006 elections until recently being shot down by a federal judge.
Several groups are working diligently to reform the harshness of drug laws
in this country, though their difference of opinion with elected
representatives makes justice a rather rare commodity.

One group, the Marijuana Policy Project, has been sponsoring state
initiatives reducing penalties for marijuana possession for several years
now, and they are quite successful at it.

Whether or not you agree with marijuana prohibition, it is hard to see how
citizens in this free nation should be discouraged by their leaders from
engaging in the democratic process by petitioning for change, yet this is
an all-too-common story.

For instance, when MPP organizers turned in more than enough signatures
last year to place an initiative on Nevada's 2006 ballot, officials in the
Secretary of State office balked. The initiative, which would decriminalize
possession of up to one ounce of marijuana among other important reforms,
naturally scares some of our more ardent drug warriors. The wide support
for such a move is even more frightening for them.

Rather than let the people choose what policies should govern their lives,
Nevada Attorney General Brian Sandoval decided to exercise his uncanny
wisdom by changing the minimum number of signatures needed, weeks after
their deadline. This number is based on a percentage of Nevada's voting
population, which at the time the signatures were turned in was set by the
2002 election turnout.

The 2004 election saw a great increase in the number of people voting (I
couldn't imagine why), meaning that future organizers would have to collect
more signatures. Apparently, Sandoval thought it reasonable to apply this
number to the 2006 ballot requirements. How he thought this would fly in a
court where rules and laws are respected is beyond me, though it was
necessary to take the case to a judge just to make sure such action truly
is illegal.

Such blatant oppression puts any notions of a democratic spirit to shame.
It is nice to know that there is some sanity left in pockets of our
government, but the fact that one of our public servants would even attempt
such a heinous scam is cause for worry. Unfortunately, this is not the
first time that petition organizers had trouble with Nevada officials.

A similar proposal should have been included on last year's ballot but was
tossed out after some minor technicalities that were overlooked for years
before marijuana reform was on the slate.

I find it more than a little ironic that our country strolls about the
planet touting the greatness of democracy, yet we can't seem to get it
right at home. Iraq's new government shuns the decrepit winner-take-all
electoral count for a fairer proportionate election, while we are stuck in
a stagnant bipartisan system.

In a democracy, it is the people who should rule, but instead we have a
class of patriarchal leaders who act as if they know the best laws to
enforce. I am grateful that at least someone in power can recall what our
nation is supposed to represent.