‘False’ signatures, other blunders: How Idaho’s medical cannabis initiative failed
The campaign to get the medical cannabis initiative on the November ballot in Idaho was tinged with “apparent false or fraudulent” signatures, residency concerns and possible campaign finance violations, according to a letter from Idaho’s secretary of state.
The initiative, spearheaded by the Natural Medicine Alliance of Idaho, would have given voters a say over whether to legalize medical cannabis for people with certain health conditions like cancer, multiple sclerosis or post-traumatic stress disorder.
In April, supporters said they had collected over 100,000 signatures, according to the Idaho Capital Sun. Initiatives must get signatures from 6% of registered voters, which is over 70,000, and they must include at least 6% of voters in 18 of Idaho’s 35 legislative districts.
But on Tuesday, the Secretary of State’s Office said the initiative failed to qualify for the ballot. The Medical Cannabis Act fell short on both measures.
The letter Secretary of State Phil McGrane sent to the Natural Medicine Alliance of Idaho’s attorney, dated Monday, detailed various concerns about the way the campaign was conducted, and said even “under the most favorable assumption” that every sheet was turned in on time and every signature accepted by a county clerk was credited, the total number of county-verified signatures amounted to just over 58,000, and the campaign had exceeded the 6% threshold in only 13 counties (five short).
“During circulation and verification, the Office received numerous complaints concerning the petition process,” the letter said. “The Office reviewed records, coordinated with county clerks, and communicated these concerns to you. That review substantiated several concerns in whole or in part, while other material issues remain unresolved because the information provided did not permit verification.”
In a statement, the Natural Medicine Alliance of Idaho put blame on a professional signature gathering firm it hired, and said it was shocked and disappointed by the outcome. The organization vowed to review the process and continue pushing forward.
‘No circumstance’ where initiative meets requirements
McGrane in his letter detailed four main issues with the campaign.
The secretary of state alleged “apparent false or fraudulent signatures,” and said it had made referrals to law enforcement. One petition sheet transmitted by a county included the signature of a person whose voter record showed they had died in 2021, along with the names of others who had been removed from voter rolls, the letter said.
“Similarities in the handwriting and voter information raised a credible concern that prior voter information may have been used to create purported signatures,” McGrane said. “The Office has referred this matter and other isolated complaints to the Idaho State Police for review and potential criminal investigation under applicable law.”
A referral “is not a finding of criminal liability,” the letter noted.
The Secretary of State’s Office also couldn’t verify that every person collecting signatures was an Idaho resident, as required by Idaho law. The letter said that complaints and county clerk records found that some people who were circulating petitions had affidavits that listed addresses outside of Idaho while claiming to be residents. The secretary of state shared the concerns and requested documentation about the residencies of those people, but even with additional materials, the residencies of 293 people remained unconfirmed, the letter said. Petition sheets circulated by people who aren’t residents of Idaho are considered void.
Many of the petition packets submitted also lacked required language warning people that it is a felony to sign an initiative using a name other than one’s own, to “knowingly” sign more than once or to sign a petition if someone is not a registered voter. The omission “raises a broader concern about whether the petitions were circulated in the form required by law,” McGrane said.
The last point raised issues about the disclosure of paid signature gatherers. The office pointed to about 175 paid circulators in county records who it said weren’t properly identified in campaign finance reports, raising a campaign finance compliance issue.
“Accordingly, on the record before the Office, there is no circumstance in which the Idaho Medical Cannabis Act petition meets the requirements for placement on the November 3, 2026, General Election ballot,” the letter said.
Natural Medicine Alliance to review findings
The Natural Medicine Alliance said it opted to hire a professional signature gathering firm because the people behind the organization were not “campaigners or experienced in petition drives.”
“We hired a professional signature gathering firm to do what we could not do ourselves and trusted it to do the job lawfully and completely,” the group said in a statement. “NMAI organizers oversaw this effort actively and in good faith.”
The alliance said it noticed signs that the original firm it hired was disorganized, but was assured by the firm that everything was on track and that laws were being followed.
“It appears that our confidence was misplaced,” the group said.
A second vendor was brought in later in the campaign, but the group said it believes every issue stemmed from its initial vendor. The alliance added that it has “zero tolerance” for fraud, and will cooperate with any review. It praised the state’s initiative process for allowing any person to “bring lawmaking directly to their neighbors” and said it appreciates the rigors and safeguards included in that process.
“The Secretary of State’s letter describes missed deadlines, circulator documentation and payment disclosures, and petition materials prepared incorrectly or submitted late,” the group said. “We take every claim in that letter seriously and no one wants answers more than we do.”
The organization said it brought in reinforcements at the end of the campaign, and submitted about double the number of required signatures, including signatures from people in every Idaho county.
“These are real Idahoans, all across the state, who expressly asked for the opportunity to vote on this issue,” the statement said. “Our third party validation prior to submission indicated significantly higher validity than was returned, and we will be reviewing the findings county by county.”
The group added that it’s reviewing legal and procedural remedies, but did not expand on what that could look like.
“The demand Idahoans expressed through this campaign is not going away,” the group’s statement said. “Idahoans deserve the right to make their own healthcare decisions and a government that trusts them to do so.”
