Something happened on Sept. 14 that has less to do with the marijuana ballot issue than with basic fairness and equity. The promoters of Amendment 44 filed a complaint with a Denver District Court judge to stop the printing of the voter information booklet because the Legislative Council (an arm of the Colorado Legislature) placed false and misleading information in the “Blue Book” that voters will receive in the mail.The judge did not dispute that the statements by the Legislative Council were false, but said that courts can only step in after the election.This ploy by the Legislative Council is yet another unethical tactic by the opponents of the petition process. Amendment 38 (the Petition Rights Amendment) fixes this by giving petition proponents and opponents equal opportunities to make their case in the Blue Book; an improvement over the current system that is now controlled by politicians.Proponents of the PRA have proven repeatedly that “The Powers That Be” are aligned against citizen petitions. For more examples, please go to www.pra2006.com.The petition process needs to be strengthened and protected. That’s what Amendment 38 does: It balances power between government and the people.If, for example, you want election transparency and want to have hand-counted paper ballots in Boulder County, Amendment 38 allows you to collect signatures to try to put the question on the ballot. Currently, there is no citizen’s petition process at the county level in Boulder.It’s hard work to get something on the ballot. It should be hard but not impossible. The petition process should be fair. Amendment 38 moves us in that direction. Please vote yes on Amendment 38.Ralph ShnelvarBoulder
