LINCOLN — A notary public has been charged with multiple counts of official misconduct in connection with an ongoing investigation into alleged fraud involving two Nebraska medical cannabis petitions.
Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers and Hall County Attorney Marty Klein announced the charges against 53-year-old Jacy C. Todd from York on Wednesday. Todd co-owns Herban Pulse, a CBD health and wellness shop in Grand Island. Authorities allege that Todd improperly notarized several petitions in Grand Island without the presence of at least one circulator.
The 24 charges correspond to specific dates between January 29 and July 2, during which Todd allegedly violated the law while performing his official duties. “Official misconduct” is classified as a Class II misdemeanor, which can result in up to six months in jail or a $1,000 fine, or both.
The Nebraska Examiner attempted to contact Herban Pulse for a statement, but the call was disconnected. Initial court documents suggest Todd does not have legal representation.
Election integrity is fundamental to our democracy, and the public expects those attempting to place issues on the ballot to comply with the law, Hilgers stated. He emphasized that notaries play a crucial role in this process and are held to a higher standard of trust and honesty. Our investigation revealed significant abuse of the notary process, with false claims that petitions were properly notarized when they were not, he added.
The sponsors of the petition drive, Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana (NMM), expressed confidence that they met all constitutional and statutory requirements for their ballot placement.
In a related case, paid petition circulator Michael K. Egbert, 66, was charged on September 13 with a felony for allegedly submitting at least 200 fraudulent signatures in Hall County. A probable cause affidavit indicates that Egbert’s questionable signatures spanned at least 38 pages across the two petitions aimed at legalizing and regulating medical cannabis.
While Todd notarized many of these pages, the affidavit states he was the notary for all 38 pages associated with Egbert’s case. Egbert reportedly fabricated names from a phone book, falsified birth dates, and listed deceased voters on the petitions.
Attorney Robert Alexander, representing Egbert, commented on Wednesday, “We’re going to let the judicial process unfold.”
Hall County Election Commissioner Tracy Overstreet emphasized that her office takes election integrity seriously and credited their thorough signature verification process and the Hall County Sheriff’s Office investigation for the charges. Voters in Hall County should be confident in signing petitions and casting their ballots, Klein said.
Overstreet previously informed the Nebraska Examiner that signatures flagged as fraudulent were promptly rejected and not included in the validation totals.
On September 13, the same day Egbert was charged, Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen certified the two medical cannabis petitions for the ballot, confirming they had nearly 90,000 valid signatures, exceeding the required 86,499. However, Evnen noted that the ongoing investigation could potentially invalidate the petitions.
Hilgers and Klein have requested a district court to declare the true number of valid signatures in a lawsuit where Evnen is a defendant. The case is ongoing in Lancaster County before District Court Judge Susan Strong.
In a recent brief, Hilgers’ office hinted at the connection between Egbert and Todd before the charges were filed, arguing that the presumption of validity should be stripped from the petition pages in question. While ballot sponsors can attempt to rehabilitate the signatures, the Attorney General’s Office stated, Stripping the presumption of validity is strong medicine, but it is justified here.
When asked how many signatures might be affected by the charges against Todd, the Secretary of State’s Office declined to comment.
Overstreet expressed her disappointment regarding the situation, stating, It’s really disheartening that someone would fraudulently record signatures, and it’s even more disheartening to see that valid signatures from passionate supporters might not count because of others not following the rules. If the charges against Todd are substantiated, they could lead to the loss of 275 signatures from the legalization petition and 271 from the regulatory petition.