This article was last updated on 11 February. This is a developing story.

Florida election officials appear to have come up short on a campaign to legalize cannabis for adults, collecting more than 54,000 valid signatures.

Local election officials in about half of Florida’s 67 counties have confirmed more signatures for the Smart & Safe Florida campaigninitiative petitionthan what government officials gave loans to those counties, according to aCannabis Business Timesanalysis of county supervisors of elections websites.

Discrepancies between states and counties for valid signature counts came after Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd’s officeannouncedOn Feb. 1, Smart & Safe Florida’s proposed constitutional amendment to allow those 21 and older to have access to cannabis does not meet the signature requirements to be placed on the 2026 general election ballot.

According to the Florida Division of ElectionswebsiteSmart & Safe Florida submitted 783,592 valid signatures by the Feb. 1 deadline, 96,470 signatures short of the 880,062 needed to get on the ballot.

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