Nebraska medical marijuana vote to be certified despite challenge

A pending court challenge and separate ongoing investigations won’t stop Nebraska’s attorney general from certifying successful medical marijuana legalization votes.

“I see no reason sitting here today to not certify,” Attorney General Mike Hilgers said Tuesday, according to the Nebraska Examiner.

“We know the judge will look at all the arguments and the facts carefully, and so we’ll wait for a ruling.”

Hilgers is one of the state officials who will meet Dec. 2 to certify Nebraska’s election results, including the two MMJ initiatives voters overwhelmingly approved on Election Day.

The attorney general also is involved in a court challenge involving those ballot initiatives.

On Sept. 13, the same day that Nebraska elections officials certified the ballot questions, prosecutors unveiled charges against a petition campaigner who allegedly forged signatures.

The worker pleaded guilty on Nov. 8, the Examiner reported, but the court battle between marijuana advocates and state officials, led by Hilgers in his role as attorney general, is unresolved.

Secretary of State Bob Evnen, who certified the MMJ ballot measures, eventually joined a lawsuit that is challenging nearly 50,000 signatures.

The judge in the case – Susan Strong, who ruled Nov. 1 that the ballots should be counted, despite the lawsuit – can issue a ruling at any time.

However, the judge had acknowledged that, no matter her ruling, the decision is likely to be appealed to the Nebraska Supreme Court.