15 charged with faking ND petition signatures


September 7, 2012 at 11:24a.m.

15 charged with faking ND petition signatures

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Eight North Dakota State University football players are among 15 people who have been formally charged with faking petition signatures in a scandal that will keep two major state initiatives off the November ballot.

Cass County State’s Attorney Birch Burdick says the 15 are scheduled for their first court appearance Oct. 2. They were charged today with a misdemeanor that carries a maximum penalty of a year in jail and a $2,000 fine.

Allegations of faked signatures forced North Dakota Secretary of State Al Jaeger to disqualify two initiatives from the ballot. The initiatives sought to set up a conservation fund financed by oil taxes and to legalize marijuana use for pain relief.