Florida election officials are fining Smart & Safe Florida – the organization behind the state’s attempted cannabis legalization campaign – $121,850 for allegedly failing to deliver initiative petitions within the 30 days required by law.
In a letter to Smart & Safe Florida, Deputy Secretary of State Brad McVay said that the Division of Elections (DOE) and Office of Election Crimes & Security (OCES) received information from the Supervisor of Elections’ offices that organizers delivered 2,437 petition forms for last year’s failed initiative after the deadline. The petitions are related to Alachua, Citrus, Clay, Columbia, and Leon counties.
McVay also accused the group of other election law violations, including submitting “forged or fraudulent” petitions. In another letter, McVay says that one of the petitions in question was “purportedly signed by a Florida voter in February 2025, when, in fact, that voter has been deceased since November 2024.” Additionally, McVay says that some voters who received information packages from Smart & Safe Florida – which contained a petition, campaign mailer, and stamped envelope – submitted the petition more than once. The letter notes that the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections has