Arkansas Ballot Issues Newsletter

March 2023

Lawsuit Filed Over 50-County Voter Rule

Requiring voters from 50 counties to sign citizen-led ballot initiative petitions is unconstitutional, opponents to Act 236 claimed in their March 10 lawsuit they filed days after the governor signed the bill into law.

Sen. Bryan King and the League of Women Voters of Arkansas filed the lawsuit with the help of David Couch, an Arkansas attorney who successfully campaigned to increase the state's minimum wage twice and brought medical marijuana to the Natural State.

The new law "places additional requirements on the initiative and referendum process" in direct conflict with the state constitution, the lawsuit states. Act 236 "place[s] unwarranted and constitutional restrictions on the ability of citizens to circulate petitions and will prevent the placement of initiative and referendum on the ballot for the general statewide election to be held in November of 2024 and all subsequent elections."

Sponsors previously said the law would help prevent out-of-state organizations from taking advantage of Arkansas voters to pass new laws and constitutional amendments that don't have broad support from every county.

The lawsuit names Secretary of State John Thurston. The online case file shows only the lawsuit being filed as of March 22. Follow the court case 60CV-23-1816 online.

Ballot Issues At A Standstill For Now

At the moment, the 2024 ballot is void of constitutional amendments or state laws for voters to decide. Here's what we know:

Legislative committees have yet to review the 33 proposed constitutional amendments lawmakers filed by the Feb. 8 deadline. They're on Spring Break this week and are expected to wrap up by April 7. That deadline is fast approaching. (Find links to every proposal filed, along with who the sponsors are and companion bills in our PPC Legislative Amendment Tracker.)

The Attorney General's Office is now back in charge of reviewing ballot titles for citizen initiatives. Legislators approved Act 194, restoring the process that had been in place until 2019. In 2019, lawmakers removed the Attorney General's role and inserted the Secretary of State and the State Board of Election Commissioners into the ballot title review process. The Arkansas Supreme Court found it unconstitutional for the State Board of Election Commissioners to have say over the content of citizen ballot initiatives.

Only after the Attorney General's office signs off on the ballot title can groups start collecting voter signatures. Do they need signatures from 15 or 50 counties? The lawsuit over how many counties is required may cause some groups to wait for direction from the court.

The Attorney General's Office launched a ballot initiative website, but the page is a work in progress. It links to the Secretary of State's 2022 ballot issue guidebook.

What's New from the Public Policy Center?

Legislators made several changes to election laws over the past month. We go into more detail about the changes in our blog posts below.

Voter Approval Now Required for "Hamburger" Taxes

Future sales taxes on hot food purchases and hotel stays will now require voter approval in Arkansas after the passage of Act 190 in the General Assembly.

Arkansas Legislators Tighten Special Election Dates

Two years after they standardized special election dates, Arkansas legislators further tightened the law about when cities and counties can hold special elections. Lawmakers said aligning special elections with primaries and general elections will keep tax burdens low for voters by making it harder for local government to "sneak things past them."

Behind the Scenes: Our Process

We asked readers how we are doing in providing you information about Arkansas ballot issues. What a great response. Your thoughts inspired this section, which shares some of the behind-the-scenes process that goes into publishing our voter guide and other voter education materials.

75-County Education Program

The Cooperative Extension Service has an office in all 75 Arkansas counties. Agents have their focus areas, such as 4-H, agriculture, and family & consumer science. During election season, they add voter education to their vast skillset.

We provide in-depth trainings for county agents so they are able to respond to ballot issue information and speaker requests at the local level. County agents have access to the same neutral presentation we provide groups across the state, and many agents wind up delivering the information to their local community organizations.

In 2022, county agents helped distribute nearly 40,000 printed voter guides across the 75 counties. They put guides at libraries, court houses, city halls, barber shops, churches, automotive shops, doctor offices, grocery stores, and many more locations where people frequent.

We couldn't deliver this program without county agents. We sincerely appreciate their help!

Find your county Extension office.

PPC In the Media

Below is a selection of recent Public Policy Center media coverage:

JD Supra

The daily e-mail compilation of legal news included the Public Policy Center's recent blog post about House Bill 1419, which increased the number of counties where ballot issue groups must collect voter signatures.

Read JD Supra Compliance Notes

Did someone share this email with you?

Subscribe to get Arkansas Ballot Issues News & Notes in your inbox every month.

The Public Policy Center was established in 2004 to provide Arkansans with timely, credible, unaligned and research-based information and education about public issues. Public issues are defined as pressing and emerging issues that involve multiple points of view and have widespread consequences.

Our goals are to:

Increase citizen knowledge, awareness and understanding of public issues;
Enhance public participation in decisions regarding public issues, and
Help citizens craft, evaluate and implement alternative solutions to public issues.

We are part of the Community, Professional and Economic Development unit at the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service in Little Rock.

News & Notes Volume 10, Issue 4. This e-mail newsletter is shared with Cooperative Extension Service agents, subscribers from the general public and election officials or educators identified by the Public Policy Center. To unsubscribe, click below on "instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe."

The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs and services without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.