“Elections officials in Inyo County said Monday that at least 70% of the signatures submitted to block a California law banning the sale of flavored tobacco are invalid, with dozens of voters saying they never signed the petition. Last month, a campaign funded by the nation’s largest tobacco companies announced it had gathered more than 1 million voter signatures to qualify a referendum on the new law for the November 2022 statewide election. The law, Senate Bill 793, outlaws the retail sale of flavored tobacco products in California and is scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1. But if elections officials determine at least 623,212 valid voter signatures have been gathered, the enactment of SB 793 will be on hold for at least the next two years. Under California law, voters can overturn a statute signed by the governor through a referendum — having done so most recently last month, when they rejected Proposition 25 and the plan to eliminate cash bail in the state. Forging a signature on a ballot measure petition and submitting the document to elections officials are misdemeanors under state law, punishable by jail time and a fine of up to $5,000.”
NOTE: The coalition has received more than $21 million so far, largely from companies including Philip Morris USA and its affiliated U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Co., as well as R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. Opponents needed to collect the signatures of 623,312 registered voters to quality the referendum.
ARTICLE LINK: Investigation launched as Inyo County voters say they didn’t sign tobacco referendum
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