On Wednesday the House State Agencies Committee passed two bills to address petition fraud and misleading ballot measures in Arkansas.
The Arkansas Constitution lets canvassers circulate petitions to place measures on a general election ballot. But in recent years Arkansas’ ballot initiative process has become the opposite of what it was intended to be.
Instead of giving citizens a way to function as a “legislative body,” powerful special interests have used the initiative process to buy their way to the ballot by hiring aggressive petition canvassers or spending millions of dollars on deceptive advertising for misleading measures.
S.B. 209 is a good bill by Sen. Kim Hammer (R — Benton) and Rep. Kendon Underwood (R — Cave Springs). It clarifies that the signatures a canvasser collects will not count if the Secretary of State finds the canvasser has violated Arkansas’ laws concerning canvassing, perjury, forgery, or fraud in the process of gathering signatures.
S.B. 210 — also by Sen. Kim Hammer (R — Benton) and Rep. Kendon Underwood (R — Cave Springs) — is a good bill that requires people to read the ballot title of the measure before signing a petition. The ballot title includes a summary of the ballot measure. Reading the ballot title helps ensure people understand the measure before they sign a petition to place the measure on the ballot. Read The Bill Here.
The Arkansas Senate passed both measures in February. Following lengthy testimony, the House State Agencies Committee passed S.B. 209 and S.B. 210 on Wednesday.
S.B. 209 and S.B. 210 are good bills that will help address petition fraud in Arkansas and protect voters from misleading ballot measures. Both bills now go to the entire House of Representatives for consideration.
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