Latest: Governor says new petition date should be weighed

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     LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson says the Legislature should look at moving up the deadline for submitting ballot measure petitions after the state Supreme Court disqualified a medical marijuana initiative less than two weeks before Election Day.

     The Republican governor said Thursday that even though he opposed Issue 7, the court will cause voter confusion by blocking election officials from counting votes cast for the measure. A competing medical marijuana proposal, Issue 6, has not been disqualified.

     Hutchinson said having an earlier deadline for submitting petitions will prevent the court from having to make decisions on initiatives so close to Election Day. The current deadline for submitting petitions is four months before the election, and changing it would require amending the state constitution.

     Hutchinson is a former head of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration and has been an outspoken opponent of legalizing medical marijuana.




   

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