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PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 16, 2011 ACLU Files Class-Action Lawsuit on Behalf Voters of Poplar Bluff CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO. — The ACLU of Eastern Missouri filed a lawsuit today on behalf of registered voters of the City of Poplar Bluff who signed an initiative petition that the City Clerk, Pamela S. Kearbey, has refused to certify. Barbara Rexroat and Katherine Carda, two individuals who signed the petition filed the suit on their own behalf and on behalf of the class of at least 2,898 other registered voters who signed the petition.

The city dropped off a letter this evening stating the petition doesn't have enough valid signatures and therefore it will not be given to City Council to pass or place on a ballot. Read more on LetPBDecide.com

From LetPBDecide.com: I received a letter from the Missouri Ethics Commission on Thursday, Dec 1, stating Joseph Pulliam from Bernie, Mo, was a concerned citizen who would “like to know who supports this cause in the community where I work!” [read more]

semotimes.com posted an article about the open access debate on Friday (Dec 2). Below are some excerpts, but you can read the entire article on their web site. Please consider posting their article to your facebook or twitter feed. “There has never been an issue where 600 people in any ward reached out against their council members,” Becker said.

From the "Let PB Decide" web site: A letter from an attorney at the Eastern Missouri division of the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) was sent to Wally Duncan, City Attorney, demanding that the petition be certified because Mr. Duncan had mis-read and mis-applied the Missouri statutes. Grant Doty, ACLU attorney, notes that only 609 signatures are necessary to file a petition: