Tallahassee, FL: The Supreme Court will not entertain arguments challenging the DeSantis administration’s decision to invalidate tens of thousands of signatures in support of a proposed 2026 adult-use marijuana legalization ballot measure.
Election officials in February determined that petitioners from the Smart & Safe Florida campaign failed to turn in the necessary number of valid signatures to qualify for the November ballot. The campaign filed a legal challenge to that decision, arguing that state officials improperly dismissed tens of thousands of signatures that should have been counted.
Last week, the Court announced that it would not consider the petitioners’ challenge – stating, “No motion for rehearing will be entertained by the Court.” No further explanation was provided.
Petitioners qualified a similar measure on the 2024 ballot. That proposal gained 56 percent of the vote, shy of the 60 percent threshold required to pass a constitutional amendment in Florida. (Florida is the only state that requires citizen-initiated measures to gain more than a simple majority.)
The DeSantis administration vigorously opposed both efforts. In May, Gov. DeSantis signed legislation making it harder for parties to qualify measures for the electoral ballot. Earlier this year, state election officials audited the work of several counties, which they alleged had not properly verified voters’ signatures. State officials also launched a criminal probe to investigate the actions of various petitioners involved with the Smart & Safe campaign. Separately, the Attorney General’s office had previously challenged the wording of the proposed measure in court, calling it “unconstitutional.”
Historically, Florida has been among the states with the highest number of annual marijuana-related arrests. Under state law, possession of 20 grams or less of marijuana is a criminal misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine. Possessing greater amounts is a felony offense, punishable by up to five years in prison.
Additional information on 2026 statewide ballot initiative efforts is available from NORML’s Election Central.