Bluestem's been following the saga of Minnesota's cannabis political parties in posts like MN Grassroots Legalize Cannabis party chair & central committee "repudiate" Aug. 9 primary hijacker and DFL campaigns blunted by marijuana candidates, burning chance of legalization, the latter republished from the Minnesota Reformer.
On Friday, The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled the Legal Marijuana Now Party failed to meet major party status.
From the Minnesota Reformer:
Minnesota Supreme Court rules marijuana party failed to meet state’s major party requirements
By Michelle GriffithThe Minnesota Supreme Court on Friday ruled that the Legal Marijuana Now Party has failed to meet the state’s requirements to qualify as a major political party. The court has ordered Secretary of State Steve Simon to prohibit the pot party’s candidates from appearing on the 2024 primary and general election ballots using the benefits associated with major party status, most significantly automatic ballot access.
The Supreme Court in a per curiam opinion — meaning in the name of the court rather than specific justices — ruled that the Legal Marijuana Now Party did not maintain a state central committee controlled by a state convention, a provision in new election laws passed by the Minnesota Legislature last year.
The state’s high court ruling comes after Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party in February asked the court to yank the Legal Marijuana Now Party’s major party status, alleging the party hasn’t met the new requirements.
Major party status confers significant advantages over minor parties, especially ballot access, negating the need for the expensive and onerous process of collecting signatures to appear on the ballot.
“We’re pleased that the Supreme Court has recognized that the Legal Marijuana Party did not satisfy the statutory requirements to be treated as a major party. If the Legal Marijuana Now Party wants to run candidates for office, they can still get on the ballot using the same process available to other third parties,” said DFL Party Chair Ken Martin in a statement. “Major party status comes with major party responsibilities, and only the Minnesota DFL and Minnesota GOP have consistently met that standard.”
Prior to Friday’s ruling, the Supreme Court appointed a district judge to determine whether the Legal Marijuana Now Party met the requirements laid out in the new law. The judge recommended that the Supreme Court revoke major party status for the August primary and November general elections.
Republicans in the last few years have seemed to collude with pot party candidates in an effort to siphon votes away from Democratic candidates in close congressional and legislative races, enraging some Democrats.
The Legal Marijuana Now Party argued before the Supreme Court that the new election laws infringed on the party’s First Amendment rights, but the justices rejected their argument.
“The (Legal Marijuana Now Party) only makes broad assertions about the burdens on its associational rights and fails to argue or otherwise demonstrate how any of the purported burdens imposed upon it are specifically caused by the requirements,” the Supreme Court wrote in its ruling.
Simon, the court ruled, must now “take all appropriate actions necessary to reflect that the Legal Marijuana Now Party is not a major political party in Minnesota for purposes of the state primary election in August 2024 and the state general election in November 2024.”
He also must prohibit Legal Marijuana Now Party candidates from appearing on the ballot using major party procedures, and he has to consider whether the pot party has met requirements to be a minor political party, the court ruled.
Supreme Court Associate Justices Margaret Chutich and Karl Procaccini recused themselves from the case.
The Legislature legalized cannabis last year.
This Minnesota Reformer article is republished online under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
Photo: The Minnesota Judicial Center. Photo courtesy of the Department of Administration/Minnesota Reformer.
Related posts
- DFL campaigns blunted by marijuana candidates, burning chance of legalization
- MN Grassroots Legalize Cannabis party chair & central committee "repudiate" Aug. 9 primary hijacker
- On Sensible Change MN Cannabis Policy Voter Guide, Ingebrigtsen clings to reefer madness
- Another one from our back pages: Republican operative Kip Christianson in the news
- Some legalize cannabis candidates are giving off very MAGA vibes, J. Patrick Coolican, MN Reformer, June 15, 2020
- How marijuana legalization party candidates could decide control of the Minnesota Senate, Peter Callaghan, MinnPost, August 21, 2020
- Is Legal Marijuana Now Being used to Spoil Elections in Minnesota? Oliver Steinberg, MinnMarijuana, August 21, 2020
- Sheriff Bill and Bub Nornes go full blown grumpy cats on medical cannabis bills
- Raw marijuana menace: Senator Bill Ingebrigtsen speaks out against legalizing killer weed
- Ingebrigtsen & Rosen warn colleagues about "dangerously addictive" pot that rips apart families
- Have a hemp heart: Sheriff Bill gets a free bag
- Grumpy cat Senator Bill Ingebrigtsen still grumpy about industrial hemp's infernal roots in Hell
- Ingebrigtsen update: grumpy cat is still grumpy about medical cannabis & intractable pain
- Ingebrigtsen update, part 2: Have a Blessed and Merry Christmas, your kids think pot is a-okay
- MN Senator Gary Dahms shares scary vision of pot-loving DFL majority with Brown Co faithful
- Hagedorn: Senator Gary Dahms stands between you and socialist legal recreational marijuana:
If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post.
Or you can contribute via this link to paypal; use email [email protected] as recipient.
I'm on Venmo for those who prefer to use this service: @Sally-Sorensen-6
Comments