Opponents of a proposed constitutional amendment to allow the statewide sale, manufacture and transportation of alcohol filed an objection against the certification of the ballot measure with the Supreme Court of Arkansas late Friday.
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The lawsuit filed by Brian Richardson and Mary Dillard on behalf of the group Citizens for Local Rights asks that Arkansas Secretary of State Mark Martin not be allowed to place the measure on the Nov. 4 ballot and that Martin's Aug. 30 certification of the measure be overturned. The suit argues that supporters of the measure missed the deadline for submitting signatures and that the ballot title does not clearly describe the effect of the measure.
"I just think that it's important that the people of Arkansas have a clear understanding of what the impact of this amendment is. That education is currently lacking right now," Richardson said late Friday. "The fact is, this amendment is dangerously written and the negative impacts are not fully known and won't be recognized for several years. It's a bad deal for Arkansas; it takes away people's rights to make these decisions locally. It could put Arkansans and more specifically our children in danger."
If passed, counties and municipalities would no longer be able to ban the sale of alcohol. Supporters collected 91,831 valid signatures; under Arkansas law, they needed 78,133.
The lawsuit contends that the Seventh Amendment of the Arkansas Constitution requires petitions for constitutional amendments or initiated acts to be submitted no less than four months before Election Day. That date fell on Friday, July 4 this year. Because of the holiday, Secretary of State Mark Martin moved the deadline to Monday, July 7. Opponents argued in the lawsuit that there's no provision in the constitution allowing that postponement.
Laura Labay, spokesman for Martin's office, said the office's attorneys are reviewing the action and could not comment late Friday.
David Couch, chairman of the ballot committee Let Arkansas Decide, organized the petition effort to get the initiative on the ballot. He said he hopes the Supreme Court will allow him to join the lawsuit as a defendant.
"As the sponsor of the initiative, the Supreme Court has always allowed the sponsor to intervene to help defend the initiative," Couch said. "This [suit] was expected. But I think that every statute and every rule and the public policy of the state of Arkansas would be that if the government office is closed you have until the next business day to conduct your business. I would hope and expect that that would be the case in this situation."
The lawsuit does not specifically name a second ballot measure by the group Give Arkansas a Raise Now that was certified Wednesday to appear on the ballot, but because organizers also turned in signatures July 7, the minimum-wage initiative also would be affected by the court's decision. The initiated act would ask voters to approve a gradual increase in the state's minimum wage from $6.25 an hour to $8.50 an hour by 2018.
Steve Copley, the chairman of Give Arkansas a Raise Now, said late Friday that the group would take the weekend to review the filing before deciding on a strategy.
The lawsuit also makes a second argument against the alcohol amendment. Opponents said the amendment would eliminate a 1975 Arkansas law that prohibits the sale of alcohol within 200 yards of schools and churches, and that the ballot title does not clearly tell voters about that change.
Couch said that isn't true.
"There's a difference between a regulation and a prohibition," he said. "The amendment says the Legislature cannot prohibit the sale, manufacture or transport of alcohol, but it allows for the regulation of alcohol sales. The ballot title is nearly identical to the actual measure, so I don't see how that argument could work."
The proposed amendment's opponents also filed a motion asking the court to expedite scheduling brief deadlines and oral arguments because of the election being less than two months away.
Metro on 09/06/2014