Keep Casper Smoke Free Wins Summary Judgement Ruling Vs. City of Casper; Issue Not Yet Over
A Natrona County District Court Judge has issued a ruling, as to whether or not some Casper City Voters should have been disqualified, from a petition regarding smoking, but the issue may not be over.
Judge Daniel Forgey ruled that the Casper City Clerk had acted arbitrarily, when a number of signers for the Keep Casper Smoke Free referendum petition were rejected.
When the petition signers were disqualified, the referendum failed, because it did not have enough signatures, for the city wide smoking ban issue, to end up on a special election ballot.
Keep Casper Smoke Free argued that the reason the clerk rejected some of the petition signatures, was because the address listed for the petition signers, did not match the address listed on the clerk's record, when they registered to vote.
The counter-argument, was that if a voter changes addresses, and still lives within the city limits, then their name on the petition should still count, because the city does not have a deadline, to when a voter must change their registration.
Judge Forgey sided with Keep Casper Smoke Free, in a summary judgement ruling.
He did not however, issue an order that the clerk must recount the signatures.
A Keep Casper Smoke Free spokesperson says they may try to acquire a writ of mandamus, which would order the clerk to recount the petition signatures.
The city has an option on whether to appeal the ruling.