Maine Marijuana Opponents Want Vote Recount at Taxpayer's Expense
Maine Governor Paul LePage (R). LePage said after the election that he intends to ask President-elect Donald Trump to enforce federal marijuana laws in Maine to prevent the state from legalizing marijuana.
Opponents to marijuana legalization in Mainereally dont like marijuana and are wagering half a million dollars from the states coffers to push for a recount of last weeks legalization vote.
On election day, voters in Maine approved Question 1, the Maine MarijuanaLegalization Measure, by an unofficial tally of just 4,402 votes, a victorious margin ofless than 1 percent.
In order to request a recount, opponents will have to submit 100 signatures to the secretary of states office by 5 PM on November 16, 2016. One of the organizations that opposed the ballot measure,Mainers Protecting Our Youth and Communities, is circulating petitions to collect the necessary signatures, telling the Portland Press Herald that the signatures will be turned in by the deadline Wednesday.
If opponents to the measure successfully collect the necessary signatures to force a recount, it could take up to a month to conduct and could cost the state upwards of $500,000, according to the Secretary of States Office. Because the margin of victory less than one percent was so small, Maine taxpayers will be footing the bill for the recount.
The people of Maine have spoken and they have voted yes to make marijuana legal, as have millions of other Americans across the country, said David Boyer, campaign manager for Yes on 1, who supported the legalization effort. Just as keeping marijuana illegal has been a waste of taxpayer dollars, we think this recount will be a waste of time and taxpayer dollars.
In Maine, if the margin of difference is less than 1.5 percent,a recount is paid for entirely by the state. If Question 1s margin of victory were greater, those seeking the recount would have to pay some, but not all, of the costs associated with the recount, anywhere from $500 to $5,000.
Even if the recount upholds Question 1s victory, there could still be more challenges ahead. Reefer-mad Republican Governor Paul LePage said followingthe election that he intends to ask President-elect Donald Trump to enforce federal marijuana laws in the state, preventing legalization from taking hold.
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