We covered the matter of when the deadline is by law in our last post. It was “before May 15,” not ON May 15th. This is written into law and was PERSONALLY explained to UMA/DSU in advance by the State Election Board as noted in that article… …but let’s look at the timeline on Monday….
The last business day when County Clerk’s offices around the state are open with set hours “before May 15” was Monday, May 14th. So clearly, the window closes when the county clerks offices all of the state close at their REGULARLY POSTED hours.
The law says NOTHING about extending County Clerks’ office hours on this day – and IF ONE had stayed “open,” then clearly ALL of them would have HAD to stay open – or there CLEARLY would not be EQUAL TREATMENT UNDER THE LAW across the state.
It also says nothing about County Clerks’ HOMES being legal places of state business nor of County Clerks’ SPOUSES being authorized to participate in confidential state business.
Now Mr. Koch he says he was not accepting the forms as timely submissions – and that he also marked the ones given to his wife by a #DSU leader as late (we would say they were improperly submitted in the first place and should simply be tossed on those grounds alone).
And he said that he wasn’t there because of the deadline – rather burning the midnight oil on a related administrative tax matter.
Color us dubious about that degree of dedication, but not exactly the point, which is more….
…If the County Clerk hadn’t been there – as neither he – nor any other County Clerk in the state was scheduled to be on duty – how would anyone know if forms were dropped off BEFORE midnight or after on May 15 when they were found the next day – wherever they were left??
And maybe not every clerk’s home is so easy to find – or has anyone awake at 11:00pm to (illegally) accept forms. Again, equal treatment under law throughout the state is key to the integrity of the process.
So with that in mind, please read the attached article for still more weak, don’t-pass-the-smell-test excuses from Drug Safe Utah. And more eyewitness accounts from Utah Patients Coalition staffer DJ Schanz, who notes:
“Our opposition’s tactics and gameplan to remove us from the ballot we feel has been largely unsuccessful. I think we’re going to be qualified in 27 of the 29 Senate Districts and we’re excited to give Utah voters the chance to vote on this important issue.”
#MMJ #UTpol #UMCI #ProtectPatients #TRUCE
See full article – Medical marijuana battle goes down to the wire
