Tag: arkansas
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Arkansas Supreme Court removes third citizen initiative from November ballot, leaving three legislative referrals for voters to decide
On September 17, the Arkansas Supreme Court removed Issue 6 from the November ballot. The referendum would have allowed voters to either repeal or uphold Act 579, which was designed to amend the definition of practice of optometry to allow optometrists to perform certain surgical procedures that were previously only performed by ophthalmologists. A yes…
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Ranked-choice voting and redistricting commission initiatives blocked from Arkansas ballot
On August 27, two Arkansas citizen-initiated measures—one that would have established a redistricting commission (Issue 4) and another that would have established ranked-choice voting (Issue 5)—were blocked by the Arkansas Supreme Court from appearing on the November ballot. The measures were provisionally certified for the ballot on August 21, 2020. The redistricting measure, sponsored by…
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Ranked-choice voting and redistricting commission initiatives provisionally certified for Arkansas ballot
Two Arkansas citizen-initiated measures—one that would establish ranked-choice voting and another that would establish a redistricting commission—were provisionally certified for the ballot on August 21, 2020. Whether or not votes will be counted for the measures is a question pending before the Arkansas Supreme Court. Sponsored by Open Primaries Arkansas, the ranked-choice voting measure would…
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Fate of four initiatives in Arkansas uncertain due to state law requiring signature gatherers to certify that they passed background checks
A veto referendum concerning eye surgeries, which was certified on January 31 to appear on the November ballot, is awaiting a final determination from the Arkansas Supreme Court about whether it will remain on the ballot. Arkansans for Healthy Eyes (opponents of the veto referendum effort) filed a lawsuit on February 28, 2020, alleging…
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Hodges resigns from Arkansas House to take new job with community college
Grant Hodges (R) resigned from the Arkansas House of Representatives on July 10. Hodges’ resignation came just before he started a new job as the executive director of community and government relations at Northwest Arkansas Community College on July 13. Hodges’ resignation was expected after he announced his acceptance of the new role in late…
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Three Arkansas initiative campaigns submit signatures by Monday deadline
The signature deadline for citizen initiatives in Arkansas passed on Monday, July 6, 2020. Sixteen initiatives were filed targeting the November 2020 ballot in Arkansas. Three campaigns submitted signatures. All three measures were constitutional amendments, which means 89,151 valid signatures are required to qualify for the ballot. 1. Arkansas Voters First sponsored a constitutional amendment…
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Four state legislators resign at the end of June
Four state legislators in three states stepped down from their positions on June 30, bringing the number of state legislative vacancies that have occurred this year to 75. The former legislators had a cumulative total of more than sixty years of legislative experience among them. Gary Jackson (R) had served in the Mississippi State Senate…
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Arkansas Voters First, redistricting initiative sponsors, file lawsuit seeking relief from signature petition requirements
Arkansas Voters First, sponsors of an initiative to create an independent redistricting commission, filed a lawsuit against Secretary of State John Thurston (R) on April 22. To qualify for the November ballot, sponsors need to submit 89,151 valid signatures by July 3, 2020. Signatures for Arkansas initiatives must be collected in person. Currently, none of…
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Arkansas Supreme Court limits judicial deference to state agencies
An April 9 Arkansas Supreme Court ruling limited how much deference agency interpretations of law would receive in the future. The court ruled in Meyers v. Yamato Kogyo Co. that the court should determine the meaning of state laws for itself and should not defer to state agency interpretations. Justice Shawn Womack delivered the opinion…