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Lawsuit filed against Colorado initiative laws
March 17, 2010
DENVER, Colorado: On Monday several Colorado groups - including John Caldara, of the Independence Institute, and Mason Tvert, a marijuana activist - filed a lawsuit against several of the state's initiative laws. Specifically the lawsuit refers to petition circulation laws which require circulators to be Colorado residents and prohibits paying circulators for each signature delivered. The laws were implemented to prevent fraud, according to state officials. "When the government puts down too many hurdles for you to jump over to engage in free speech, it's a violation of the First Amendment," said David Lane, the attorney arguing in favor of the Colorado groups. House Speaker Terrance Carroll, the main sponsor of the questioned initiative laws, calls the lawsuit "frivolous and without merit." According to reports Colorado Secretary of State Bernie Buescher has not yet seen or commented on the lawsuit.[1][2][3]
See also
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- Procedures for qualifying an initiative in Colorado
- Laws governing the initiative process in Colorado
- History of Initiative & Referendum in Colorado
Footnotes
- ↑ Ballot Access News, "Lawsuit Filed Against Colorado Residency Requirement for Petition Circulators," March 16, 2010
- ↑ Westword, "Marijuana and right-wing politics get together: Mason Tvert and Jon Caldara sign on to lawsuit about ballot petitions," March 16, 2010
- ↑ The Denver Post, "Suit claims laws curbing ballot petition fraud are unconstitutional," March 16, 2010
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