Mano Amiga, working with Ground Game Texas and Texas Cannabis Collective has reached the signature goal to put decriminalization on the ballot in November.
“Clearly, a substantial portion of the San Marcos electorate has spoken and it is now the duty of City Council to afford voters the opportunity to approve it at the ballot box in November. This is true democracy from the ground up, and I’m here for it,” said Alyssa Garza, a San Marcos City Council member.
Mano Amiga informed TXCANNACO that as of their May 30th review, the organizers report they have independently verified over 4,300 valid, unique signatures, when City Charter only requires 4,182, or one-tenth of the amount of registered voters in the City. Mano Amiga plans to turn in the signatures to City Hall/San Marcos City Clerk’s Office at 1pm this coming Wednesday located at 630 E Hopkins St, San Marcos, TX 78666.
The group plans to do a river jump afterwards to celebrate the monument occasion in town for those that helped make it happen. Typically the river jump into the spring fed San Marcos River takes place for graduates of the university immediately after graduation.
Mano Amiga reached this milestone by exploring various avenues to collect signatures to include block-walks, campaigning on the Texas State (TXST) campus, reaching out to veterans organizations, and local media outlets such KZSM and Texas Cannabis Collective. The group will be looking to get people in the town registered to vote for the upcoming election.
An additional 6,500 residents signed the petition, many of whom have since registered to vote in San Marcos – including over 500 Texas State students who updated their address at the coalition’s table on campus – in order to be eligible to vote on the measure this fall.
“For too long, San Marcos residents have faced the undue burden of legal troubles, financial hardship, and even incarceration for low-level marijuana offenses,” said Julie Oliver, Executive Director of Ground Game Texas.
The TXST campus was observed as having a mix of unregistered voters and registered voters that were not registered in the city. A large chunk of college students on campus are registered to vote back in their home cities and counties. Unfortunately most of them do not return home to vote, and that leaves them unable to vote in their local elections.
“Our team, over the last six months, has been overwhelmed with the amount of community members and local businesses that helped make this the biggest ballot initiative this city has ever seen. We’re thrilled to have something on the ballot that young people will be excited to vote on, thus drastically increasing voter turnout and civic engagement!” says Sam Benavides, Communications Director with Mano Amiga.
Anybody that feels they may need to register to vote for their local election will need to do so 30 days before the election takes place. This is a state requirement for eligibility to vote. If you are in the San Marcos area, Mano Amiga has members that are voter registrars that can get you registered.
The group will also be hosting the Lost River Film Fest this year from Oct 20-23. The festival has been timed to coincide with launch of what is being called the Reeferendum Election on Oct 24th. The group is still seeking cannabis-themed submissions for the fest. Using the code LegalizeIt enables a free submission for any cannabis themed submission at filmfreeway.com/lostriverfilmfest.
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