By Judge Delays Decision After Petitioners Left Out
No decision was made Wednesday on a challenge to a referendum on whether the number of marijuana retail licenses in the city of Menominee should be raised from nine to 13, because the group which submitted the ballot initiative was not notified of the lawsuit. Judge Mary Barglind agreed the petitioners should be allowed to respond.
Petitioners filed more than double the number of signatures needed to get the question on the Nov. However, a challenge to petitions was filed, seeking to stop the vote.
What Happened At The Hearing
Much of the first part of the hearing Wednesday was devoted to attorney Kevin Blair reviewing the requirements of Michigan law regarding the wording, formatting, fonts, and other requirements of the petitions, and the referendum opponents’ challenges to those.
About an hour into the hearing, Jennifer Green, the attorney for the group which gathered the petitions, joined the proceeding. She said the ballot backers group wasn’t provided notice of the suit, and asked for the hearing to be postponed so she could review the complaint.
What Comes Next
Written arguments are due Friday afternoon, after which Judge Barglind said she would render a written decision. The ballots have already been printed. Mailing of absentee ballots is expected to start Saturday.
It is unclear what would happen if a party wants to appeal that decision. It is also unclear if the ballots could be sent out and if a ruling made after that could nullify the results.
