UPDATE 3:30 p.m. Wednesday: Per Smokefree Natrona County's Facebook page, over 2,850 signatures have been gathered.

UPDATE 8:10 p.m. Tuesday: Officials with Keep Casper Smoke Free, the referendum committee trying to overturn changes to the city of Casper’s controversial public smoking ban, say they think they have the needed number of signatures for a referendum.

Committee co-chair Kimberly Holloway says the group surpassed its target of 2,465 signatures late Tuesday evening.

“We were near the farmer’s market, and we think we got 150 signatures this evening,” Holloway said. “I’m hoping we’ve surpassed the 2,465 (mark) - we could be at 2,500.”

Holloway says the group will continue to gather signatures up until a deadline set for 5:00 p.m. Wednesday.

“We definitely need a cushion, because I’m sure there are people on the list that aren’t registered, or thought they were registered but they’re not,” Holloway said. “We had people from out of town sign, so we definitely have probably a five percent margin that we’d have to cover.”

City officials still need to verify the signatures. If the group has enough verified signatures, a special election will be held in August.

UPDATE 7:40 p.m. Tuesday: Per Smokefree Natrona County's Facebook page, over 2,300 signatures have been gathered.

 

Officials with Keep Casper Smoke Free say they’re approaching the 2,465 signatures they need to trigger a special election to potentially overturn alterations to the city of Casper’s public smoking ordinance.

Committee chairperson Kimberly Holloway says the group is about 350 signatures short, but is optimistic the group will reach its target by Wednesday’s 5:00 p.m. deadline.

“We think we’re at about 2,100 – we still have a lot of petitions circulating around the city,” Holloway said. “There’s still one at the American Cancer Society office, Rocky Mountain Oncology, and Jason’s Friends on West B Street.”

Casper City Council passed a revised smoking ban on June 18 that allows smoking in taverns, lounges, bars, private clubs and healthcare facilities. Smoking still isn’t allowed in Casper restaurants.

If Keep Casper Smoke Free reaches its target of 2,465 valid signatures, a special election will be scheduled for August.

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