Photo of Mano Amiga table at the San Marcos Public Library to sign the petition to decriminalize marijuana. Credited to Sierra Martin.
Staff Reports
SAN MARCOS — On Wednesday, June 1, 2022, the grassroots criminal-justice group Mano Amiga alongside the voter-engagement organization Ground Game Texas, held a press event at the San Marcos City Hall to announce they have successfully collected enough signatures to secure a ballot initiative to decriminalize marijuana in San Marcos, Texas.
Organizers report they have pre-verified at least 4,600 valid, unique signatures. The City Charter only requires 4,182, or one-tenth of the number of registered voters in the City.
An additional 6,500 residents signed the petition, and campaign organizers have helped hundreds of new San Marcos voters update their registration in order to be eligible to vote on the measure this fall.
“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.
“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. “Ground Game Texas and Mano Amiga are proud to give voters in San Marcos the opportunity to reform local marijuana laws on the November ballot.”
“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.
Ground Game Texas recently passed an Austin ballot initiative to decriminalize marijuana and ban no-knock police warrants with more than 85% support from voters. Last week, Ground Game Texas announced they have successfully collected enough signatures to secure a ballot initiative to decriminalize marijuana in Killeen, Texas.
The San Marcos campaign is one of ten ballot campaigns Ground Game Texas has launched across the state of Texas to bring new voters into the fold and mobilize them behind progressive change.
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Now, how many of those signatures have the right to vote in San Marcos? Just because you've hit the number doesn't mean you've satisfied the requirement. Those campaigns at Texas State probably resulted in a significant number of illegitimate names.
"Decriminalizing" pot, without defining the legal limit of intoxication, is a mistake.