DENVER—Groups behind ballot initiatives have won a preliminary injunction preventing the state from enforcing restrictions on paying people to circulate petitions in Colorado until the dispute is decided at trial.
U.S. District Judge Philip Brimmer issued the decision Friday, saying the groups challenging the law on constitutional grounds have a good chance of prevailing in their lawsuit.
The groups include SAFER, which supports fewer restrictions on marijuana use, and the Independence Institute, a conservative think tank that supports a ballot measure challenging the federal law overhauling health care. Both face imminent deadlines for collecting signatures.
A law approved last year by the Colorado Legislature limits how much people circulating petitions can be paid per signature. The law’s aim is to avoid fraud.
The groups suing to overturn the law argue that the restrictions will drive up the cost of gathering voters’ signatures to place proposals on the ballot. They say that infringes on their constitutional right of free speech.
Brimmer said while the state has a compelling interest to try to prevent fraud in elections, it hasn’t made its case that paying per signature leads to higher rates of fraud or invalid signatures.
The secretary of state’s office says it hasn’t decided whether to appeal Brimmer’s decision.
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Information from: The Denver Post,
