Signatures submitted for Arkansas initiative to prohibit the state legislature from amending or repealing constitutional amendments and require voter approval for changes to the initiative and referendum process

In Arkansas, signatures were submitted to the secretary of state on July 3, 2026, for a ballot initiative that would prevent the state legislature from amending or repealing approved constitutional amendments, require voter approval for proposed changes to the ballot initiative and referendum process, and establish a process for the attorney general to review ballot initiatives.

More specifically, the measure would:

Prohibit the state legislature from amending or repealing constitutional amendments that voters have approved;
Require voter approval for laws passed by the state legislature that would impact the initiative or referendum processes;
Require the attorney general to accept or reject ballot titles within 10 days, provide substituted language if possible, subject changes or rejections to review by the state supreme court, and deliver the certification to the secretary of state on the same day that a title is certified; and
Prohibit the state legislature from amending Article 5, Section 1 of the Arkansas Constitution, which contains Arkansas' initiative and referendum procedures and requirements.

At least 90,704 signatures must be verified for the initiative to be eligible for the ballot on Nov. 3, 2026. Protect AR Rights, the organization supporting the initiative, announced that it had gathered 108,837 signatures for submission.

Dara Gaines, the field director for Protect AR Rights, said, "Today's submission is a testament to what people can accomplish when they come together to defend democracy."

Speaking in opposition to the initiative, state Sen. Kim Hammer (R-16) said, "You have nearly 1,000 people that called the Secretary of State's office wanting to have their names removed off the petition. And you've got people coming from out of state that are declaring that their residency is at a motel, when in reality they live in other parts of the country. We just want to make sure that our election process remains the number one in the nation for election integrity security. Even with the petition ballots."

League of Women Voters of Arkansas v. Jester (2025-2026)

According to Protect AR Rights, "Arkansas lawmakers passed 13 new laws designed to make citizen-led ballot initiatives harder — or impossible — to use... If we don't act now, Arkansas could lose one of its most important democratic tools."

The initiative came in response to laws passed by the Arkansas General Assembly, which required:

canvassers to request photo ID from signers;
signers to read a ballot title or have it read aloud to them;
canvassers to file post-circulation affidavits; and
reimbursement to the state for publication of the measure.

On April 21, 2025, the League of Women Voters of Arkansas (LWVAR) and Save AR Democracy filed a federal lawsuit, League of Women Voters of Arkansas, et al. v. Jester, against these requirements. Protect AR Rights and another organization, For AR Kids, signed on as intervenor-plaintiffs.

On Nov. 19, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas issued a preliminary injunction against the requirements, thereby blocking their enforcement and allowing groups to continue gathering signatures.

On June 30, 2026, U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks declared most of the requirements unconstitutional, stating, "the Court found that the following laws violate the First Amendment as a matter of law: the pre-collection disclosure requirement; Act 218, the crime notification requirement; Act 240, the ID verification requirement; Act 274, the reading requirement; Act 241, the post-collection affidavit requirement and cool-off period; and the publication cost reimbursement requirement." However, challenges to the requirements that paid canvassers be permanent residents of the state and that prohibit paying canvassers based on the total number of signatures gathered were unresolved and will proceed to trial, which is set for July 28, 2026.

In response to Judge Brooks' decision, John Williams, legal director of the ACLU of Arkansas, said, "This ruling reaffirms a simple but essential principle: the First Amendment protects the right of Arkansans to organize, advocate, and engage in the political process without unnecessary government interference. The court recognized that the state cannot burden core political speech with unnecessary restrictions that chill participation and make it harder for people to exercise their constitutional right to bring issues directly to the voters."

Following the decision, Secretary of State Cole Jester (R) said, "We're appealing the whole order. And we're going to take it to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, which meets in St. Louis, where we will make our case that this is not against the First Amendment, but it is critical for our election security."

Ballot measures limiting legislative changes to the initiative and referendum process in 2026

In addition to Arkansas, campaigns in three other states — Missouri, Montana, and Nebraska — have submitted signatures for initiatives on the 2026 ballot that would limit the state legislature's ability to change previously approved measures or to eliminate the initiative and referendum process entirely.

In Missouri, signatures were submitted for an initiative that would prohibit the state legislature from making changes such as increasing initiative signature thresholds, shortening citizen gathering periods, restricting subject matter, limiting judicial review of ballot language, creating additional requirements for petitioners, and requiring more than a simple majority vote for approval.
In Montana, signatures were submitted for an initiative that would add the initiative and referendum power to the state's Declaration of Rights, providing that the "right guarantees impartial, predictable, transparent, and expeditious processes for proposing a ballot issue, qualifying a ballot issue for the ballot, and submitting a ballot issue to the qualified electors without intereference from the government or the use of government resources to support or oppose the ballot issue."
In Nebraska, signatures were submitted for an initiative that would require a four-fifths (80%) vote in the state legislature to change, impair, or repeal a previously approved ballot initiative. It would also require changes to the initiative process to be approved by a four-fifths vote and would need to "advance a compelling state interest achieved by the least restrictive means."

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