A federal judge has been urged to overturn several restrictions on Arkansas’s initiative process, as a lawsuit argues the state is infringing upon voters’ constitutional rights. The League of Women Voters of Arkansas has filed this legal challenge against four recent laws and existing regulations, citing significant obstacles for citizens attempting to place proposals on the ballot.
The lawsuit contends that these laws obstruct the ability of the people to circulate and gather petitions effectively, asserting that they fail to support the initiative and referendum process. Arkansas joins a number of Republican-led states where lawmakers have been advocating for tighter controls on the ballot initiative process.
The new Arkansas laws under scrutiny include requirements for individuals to read the text of a ballot initiative and present photo identification before signing a petition. The legal challenge also targets existing rules, such as the prohibition of paying canvassers per signature collected and the mandate for canvassers to be state residents.
The office of Attorney General Tim Griffin is currently reviewing the lawsuit, with a spokesperson indicating readiness to defend the state’s position. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Cole Jester has pledged to uphold these measures, arguing that the petition system has long been plagued by fraud and misconduct. Jester describes the laws as common-sense protections and is prepared to support them in court.
The lawsuit claims that these measures are attempts to bypass the protections for the initiative process outlined in the state constitution. It also highlights that voters previously rejected proposed restrictions in the 2020 and 2022 elections.
The push for these restrictions follows an incident where supporters of abortion rights were unable to get a proposal on the ballot last year, after election officials dismissed the submitted petitions. The Arkansas Supreme Court upheld this decision. Among the plaintiffs in the lawsuit is Save AR Democracy, a group dedicated to proposing a constitutional amendment that would bolster protections for the initiative process.
