STAFF REPORT

An effort to amend the state Constitution to give city and town clerks more time to check petition signatures on citizen ballot initiatives failed.

With 99 percent of the vote counted, the proposal failed 283,797 to 259,593 -- 52 percent to 48 percent.

The proposal would have increased the amount of time clerks have to certify petition signatures from five days to 10, which would reduce the amount of overtime communities would have to pay workers.

Local officials must check petition signatures against voter lists before submitting the petitions to the state.