Marijuana ban petition will not be on October ballot

A citizen initiative seeking to ask voters whether commercial marijuana is legal in the Kenai Peninsula Borough outside the cities is a no-go.

The borough clerk’s office finished verifying the signatures Friday and found the petition came up short. The petitioners were 62 signatures shy of the 898 they needed to qualify for the Oct. 4 general election ballot, said Borough Clerk Johni Blankenship.

“They submitted 998 signatures,” Blankenship said. “We were only able to validate 836.”

The petition cannot get onto the October ballot. However, it doesn’t rule it out entirely from a vote. The petitioners still have 10 days to gather additional signatures to supplement the ones they have, and if they succeed, the clerk’s office has another 10 days after that to verify them, Blankenship said.

If the initiative at that point has enough valid signatures, the petition would then go to the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly. Assembly members would be able to decide then whether it would go to a special election or would have to go to the October 2017 ballot, she said.

The clerk sent out a notice to borough assembly members and the petitioners letting them know the petition had been certified as insufficient to be placed on the ballot for the Oct. 4 regular election.

The petition has been a political football for the past few months, after an ordinance that would have placed the question on the ballot failed to be introduced at the borough assembly in May. A group of citizens circulated the petition booklets this summer and turned them in on July 26, just before the borough assembly meeting. The technical deadline fell at 5 p.m. on July 21, but the petitioners requested and were granted a five-day extension, according to the letter from the clerk.

Reach Elizabeth Earl at elizabeth.earl@peninsulaclarion.com.

More in News

Jason Criss stands for a photo in Soldotna, Alaska, after being named a qualifier for the Special Olympics USA Games on Thursday, July 10, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Soldotna athlete to compete in 2026 Special Olympics USA Games

Thousands of athletes from across all 50 states will be competing in 16 sports.

The entrance to the Homer Electric Association office is seen here in Kenai, Alaska on May 7, 2020. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
HEA opens bids for real property

The deadline to submit bids is 5 p.m. on Aug. 11.

Arturo Mondragon-Lopez, Jr. (right) attends a change of plea hearing related to the October 2023 fatal shooting of Brianna Hetrick on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025, at the Homer Courthouse in Homer, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)
Mondragon-Lopez sentenced for death of Homer woman

Arturo Mondragon-Lopez, Jr. accepted a plea deal in February for the shooting of Brianna Hetrick.

Soldotna City Hall is seen on Wednesday, June 23, 2021 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Soldotna OKs $395,000 capital plan

This year’s list of capital projects is “nominal compared to some past years,” according to officials.

A map of areas proposed for annexation by the City of Soldotna. (Provided by City of Soldotna)
Soldotna adds annexation proposal to ballot

The proposed annexation is split across five small areas around the city.

Nets are extended from North Kenai Beach in Kenai, Alaska, during the first day of the Kenai River personal use dipnet fishery on Thursday, July 10, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
‘A really good day’

Kenai River personal use sockeye salmon dipnet fishery opens.

The entrance to the Kenai Peninsula Borough building in Soldotna is seen here on June 1. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
Borough assembly to consider ordinance to increase residential property tax exemption

If approved by voters in October, the ordinance would increase the tax exemption by $25,000.

Vice President Kelly Cooper speaks during a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly in Soldotna, Alaska, on Tuesday, July 8, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Borough considers seasonal sales tax rate

Borough sales tax would be modified from a flat 3% to a seasonal model of 4% in summer months and 2% in winter months.

Most Read