Senate Committee Backs Ballot Initiative Reforms
On Tuesday the Senate State Agencies Committee passed several good bills shoring up Arkansas’ ballot initiative process.
The Arkansas Constitution lets canvassers circulate petitions to place measures on a general election ballot. However, in recent years Arkansas’ ballot initiative process has become the opposite of what it was intended to be. Its original intent was to provide citizens a means of functioning as a “legislative body.” Instead, powerful corporate special interests have used our own ballot initiative process against us.
During committee testimony on Tuesday, pro-life leader Vikki Parker testified about how canvassers for the Arkansas Abortion Amendment encouraged people to sign the abortion petition more than once — which is against the law.
Following extensive testimony on Tuesday, the Senate State Agencies Committee passed the following good bills by Sen. Hammer and Rep. Underwood concerning ballot measures:
- S.B. 207 requiring petition canvassers to inform people that petition fraud is a crime before obtaining their signatures on a petition.
- S.B. 208 requiring canvassers to verify a person’s identity via photo ID before obtaining the person’s signature on a petition. This helps prevent people from fraudulently signing someone else’s name on a petition.
- S.B. 209 clarifying 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 requiring 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.
- S.B. 211 requiring petition canvassers to file an affidavit with the Secretary of State verifying that the canvasser complied with the Arkansas Constitution and all Arkansas laws concerning canvassing, perjury, forgery, and fraud in the process of gathering signatures.
These bills now go to the entire Arkansas Senate for consideration.
Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.
