LAMAR — A district court judge has ruled the results of two ballot initiatives related to recreational marijuana in Lamar are invalid as the city violated its charter.
The questions on voter's ballots in November asked if the city should legalize recreational cannabis and whether special sales and excise taxes should be approved.
54 percent of voters approved both ballot questions in November, but Judge Michael Davidson's ruled the results are invalid. Wanda Rohlman filed the complaint.
According to court documents, City Clerk Linda Williams told the group "SoCo Rocks" it would need 221 signatures or five percent of ballots cast in the last election. Williams approved the petitions. However, the City of Lamar's charter requires 15 percent of ballots cast in the previous election.
Court documents also detail members of the City Council testifying saying they didn't know the number of signatures required for ballot initiatives and had they known the group did not collect the correct amount of signatures, they wouldn't have placed the questions on November's ballot.
In a city council meeting Monday, Lamar's council said it would be meeting in an executive session to figure out the next steps after the judge's ruling.
Read the judge's full ruling here.
_____
Watch KOAA News5 on your time, anytime with our free streaming app available for your Roku, FireTV, AppleTV and Android TV. Just search KOAA News5, download and start watching.
