{"id":1403548,"date":"2026-02-04T06:45:16","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T11:45:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thenewsherald.com\/?p=1403548&preview=true&preview_id=1403548"},"modified":"2026-02-04T06:45:35","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T11:45:35","slug":"state-says-pot-ballot-referendum-is-dead-but-organizers-say-not-so-fast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thenewsherald.com\/2026\/02\/04\/state-says-pot-ballot-referendum-is-dead-but-organizers-say-not-so-fast\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida says pot ballot referendum is dead, but organizers say not so fast"},"content":{"rendered":"

TALLAHASSEE \u2014Florida\u2019s Secretary of State has declared dead a 2026 ballot measure to legalize pot, saying it failed to get enough petition signatures to make the ballot \u2014 but supporters said Monday the announcement is premature.<\/p>\n

Cord Byrd, an appointee of legalization opponent Gov. Ron DeSantis, sent a memo to the media at 6:41 p.m. Sunday, an hour and 41 minutes after the deadline for submitting petition signatures for the 2026 ballot had passed. His memo said all 22 proposed constitutional amendments, including the marijuana one, failed to meet the state requirements to get on this year\u2019s ballot.<\/p>\n

Not so fast, said the Smart & Safe Florida organization pushing the marijuana measure: It submitted more than 1.4 million signatures, about 60 percent over the required number, said Glenn Burhans Jr., general counsel for the group. Once they are all counted, he said, \u201cwe will have more than enough to make ballot.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe the declaration by the Secretary of State is premature, as the final and complete county-by-county totals for validated petitions are not yet reported,\u201d Burhans said via text.<\/p>\n

State law says all signatures validated by 5 p.m. Feb. 1 must be counted.<\/p>\n

State elections officials didn\u2019t respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

The dispute is only the latest sharp conflict over qualifying the initiative, a process that began almost immediately after a previous ballot measure failed in 2024. After tightening the rules governing petitions, DeSantis and his allies have fought at every turn to block the proposed 2026 measure\u2019s path to the ballot.<\/p>\n