Pubdate: Wed, 27 Aug 2014
Source: Albuquerque Journal (NM)
Copyright: 2014 Albuquerque Journal
Contact:  http://www.abqjournal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/10
Author: T.S. Last, Journal North
Page: C2

SF COMMISSION WANTS POT PROPOSAL ON NOV. BALLOT

But There May Not Be Enough Space for Question

SANTA FE - The Santa Fe County Commission on Tuesday voted 4-0 to put 
proposed decriminalization of possession of small amounts of 
marijuana within the Santa Fe city limits on the ballot for the Nov. 
4 general election.

But questions remain as to whether there's enough room on the ballot 
to publish the question.

State Secretary of State Dianna Duran and her Bureau of Elections 
Director Bobbi Shearer outlined several concerns about whether there 
is enough space on the ballot to handle the pot proposal and having 
different ballots in precincts split between city and county voters.

But County Clerk Geraldine Salazar was confident any issues could be 
overcome. She said her office had experience dealing with ballots 
that list different issues and have to be separated.

She also said the city clerk's office has experimented with mock 
ballots on both 17-inch and 22-inch ballots and that she believed 
fitting the question on the ballot was "doable."

The effort to get the measure before city voters in November was led 
by Progress Now New Mexico and Drug Policy Action.

Currently under state law, first-time offenders in possession of less 
than an ounce of marijuana are charged with a petty misdemeanor 
punishable by a fine of $50 to $100 and imprisonment of not more than 
15 days. The ballot proposal calls for possession to be treated as a 
civil infraction, punishable by a fine of no more than $25.

Shearer said Santa Fe's charter requires the question be placed on 
the ballot in English and Spanish. It also must appear on the front 
page of the ballot. "So it looks to us there's probably not enough 
real estate on the ballot to accommodate this length of question," she said.

One option, Duran said, was to hold a separate election with a 
separate ballot on the same day as the general election. But that 
would require more voting machines and increased costs for the city, she said.

In Albuquerque, where councilors have voted to put a similar measure 
on the ballot, Bernalillo County Clerk Maggie Toulouse Oliver - 
Republican Duran's Democratic opponent in November - said holding a 
separate city election at the same time as the statewide one would 
create logistical challenges and added costs. Putting the city 
questions on their own piece of paper, for example, would require 
extra voting machines, she said.

There could also be voter confusion if the city and county clerks 
pick different polling locations, Toulouse Oliver said.

With the election just 70 days away, time to plan is running short, 
she said. Mayor Richard Berry could still veto the pot ballot proposal.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom