Laserfiche WebLink
William K. Goodrich <br />May ]7, 2005 <br />Page '/ <br /> <br />amhorizes the city clerk to invalidate a petition paper on certain grounds, those grounds are <br />specified in the statute, and do not relate to the integrity or tmthfialness of the representations <br />made by those who obtained the signatures. The absence of such a reference to <br />misrepresentations, coupled with language in §410.12 that mandates submission of questions for <br />a vote subject to certain specified exceptions, suggests to us that the City may not lawfully reject <br />it pcl. ititm even if it were to find that signatures were secured through misrepresentations, <br /> <br /> Minnesota is also one of a decreasing number of states that prohibits certain forms of <br />knowingly false campaign speech. 8ce Minn. Stat. § 2IIB.06 subd. I provides in relevant part: <br /> <br /> A persm~ is guilty of a gross misdemeanor who intentionally <br /> participates in the preparation, dissemination, or broadcast of paid <br /> political advertising or campaign material with respect to the <br /> personal or political character or acts of a candidate, or with <br /> respect to the effect of a ballot question, that is designed or tends to <br /> elect, injure, promote, or defeat a .candidate for nomination or <br /> election to a public office or to promote or defeat a ballot question, <br /> that is false, and that the person knows is false or communicates to <br /> others with reckless disregard ofwMther it is false. <br /> <br />At most, this statute authorizes a County Attorney to initiate a misdemeanor prosecution, without <br />aulhorizing a city to take any steps affecting the ballot question. Moreover, while courts have <br />Jbund that statutes of this kind may constitutionally be applied to false campaign speech <br />regarding a particular candidate, the Washington Supreme Court has held that its former <br />counterpart to this statute could not constitutionally be applied .to speech in .support of ballot <br />initiatives. State of ~"ashingtoh ex rel. Public Disclosure Commission v. 119 Vote Not. <br />Committee, 957 P.2d 691,695 (Wash. 1998). , <br /> <br />Please contact me if you have any questions regarding this matter. <br /> <br />John M. Baker <br /> <br /> <br />