Nebraska AG announces investigation into 'several thousand signatures' on 2024 petitions

LINCOLN — Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers said Friday a statewide investigation continues into “several thousand signatures” collected on ballot initiative petitions, just hours before a key deadline to include them on the November ballot.

Hilgers, a Republican, also announced at least one Grand Island man who had been hired to collect signatures for a marijuana initiative has been criminally charged. Hilgers has opposed legalizing any form of cannabis, but said the timing of his announcement coincided with the conclusion of part of his investigation and not the signature certification deadline.

“We’ve seen these irregularities implicate several thousand signatures,” Hilgers told reporters Friday. “Our work is still ongoing, we will have more to say. Today is the deadline for the Secretary of State but it is not our deadline in order to complete our work.

Hilgers is a former state lawmaker and has also led a statewide campaign against delta-8, which contains THC, the compound in the cannabis plant most commonly associated with getting a person high.

Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen must decide Friday whether the petitions from Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana collected enough valid signatures to be included on the Nov. 5 ballot.



https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/09/13/nebraska-ag-announces-investigation-into-several-thousand-signatures-on-2024-petitions/