Group proposes to protect Arkansas' ballot initiative process
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The League of Women Voters of Arkansas submitted a proposed constitutional amendment on Tuesday to reform the state's ballot initiative process to Attorney General Tim Griffin.
Why it matters: Arkansas voters can change or reject laws enacted by the state Legislature through a citizen-initiated process.
- Any measure that appears on the ballot enables residents to influence policy directly through their vote.
Yes, but: Over the years, lawmakers have made the process more difficult for grassroots issues to reach voters, passing laws that riddle it with technicalities and all but require a group to be well-funded to gather petition signatures.
- Acts 240 and 241, signed last week, mandate canvassers submit an affidavit proclaiming they will follow Arkansas law and to check photo IDs before a voter can sign petitions.
State of play: The League of Women Voters' proposed amendment and ballot title seeks to roll back some of the recent restrictions, streamline the process and ensure policies enacted by voters remain in place.
Its key provisions include:
- Prohibit the General Assembly from amending a voter-approved constitutional amendment with a two-thirds vote.
- Requires the attorney general's office to approve or modify the language of ballot titles and limits challenges to the state supreme court to 45 days after approval.
- Ensures the names and titles of referendums align with those assigned by the General Assembly to the laws they seek to repeal.
- Requires separate votes on legislation and its emergency clause, with at least 24 hours between.
- Prohibits the General Assembly from amending or repealing constitutional amendments approved by voters.
- Allows canvassers to submit signatures under penalty of perjury, eliminating the need for notarization.
Flashback: Last year, three citizen-led initiatives collected enough signatures for the November ballot. However, the abortion amendment and the recreational marijuana amendment were eventually disqualified over paperwork.
- Only a measure to revoke a casino license and require voters to approve future licenses was included. It passed with nearly 90% of the vote.
What they're saying: "What [the Legislature's] doing now is trying to change the constitution with statutes and try to make this process so difficult that it becomes impossible," Bonnie Miller, president of the League of Women Voters of Arkansas, told Axios.
- "This is crucial for democracy in our state, and that's really our mission … to empower voters and protect and defend democracy,"
What's next: Griffin has 10 days from the time he received the paperwork to review the ballot title.
- If approved, supporters must collect nearly 91,000 valid signatures to qualify for the November 2026 ballot.