Arkansas attorney general again rejects bid to create panel to draw state's districts

Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge, speaks during the second day of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Tuesday, July 19, 2016.
Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge, speaks during the second day of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Tuesday, July 19, 2016.

Attorney General Leslie Rutledge on Thursday rejected, for the second time, the ballot title for a proposed constitutional amendment that would create an independent commission to draw Arkansas' legislative and congressional district boundaries.

Rutledge first shot down the proposed amendment's title last month, citing ambiguities in the text. She noted additional unclear terms Friday.

Little Rock attorney David Couch, who wrote the proposal, said the objections raised in Friday's opinion are different from those raised in the first rejection.

If passed, the amendment would create a seven-member body to redistrict Arkansas' General Assembly and congressional seat boundaries each decade after the U.S. Census. The redistricting process for state legislative districts is currently done by the governor, attorney general and secretary of state; the state Legislature draws the congressional district lines.

[INTERACTIVE MAP: See how state’s districts have evolved over time]

Proponents of measures like Couch's argue that independent commissions minimize the chance that districts will be gerrymandered, or drawn in a manner favorable to one particular political party or candidate.

Couch, who has drafted several successful constitutional amendments and initiated acts in recent years, including the medical marijuana amendment approved in 2016, said he plans to resubmit a tweaked proposal.

"We'll try again and try to address the issues," he said in a Friday phone interview.

Couch and others hoping to get their proposals on November's ballot face several looming deadlines. Once they receive approval on ballot title wording from Rutledge, they must publish the proposal in a newspaper by June 6. By July 6, they must submit the proposal with petitions bearing 84,859 valid signatures of registered voters to the secretary of state.

The attorney general often rejects the first few drafts of a proposed ballot title.

Rutledge on Friday said the description was unclear of the requirements for those who serve on the independent commission.

She also expressed concerns about the length of Couch's proposed title and whether the Arkansas Supreme Court would consider it short enough to be easily understood at the voting booth.

"Over the years, experience has shown a direct correlation between the length and complexity of initiated measures and their susceptibility to a successful ballot title challenge," Rutledge wrote.

Earlier this week, a group appealed to the state Supreme Court after Rutledge denied their ballot title four times. The group is trying to get a constitutional amendment on the November ballot that would allow the creation of four casinos in the state.

In the lawsuit, the group -- Driving Arkansas Forward -- said Rutledge took a "strained reading" of its ballot title.

Couch filed a similar suit against Rutledge in 2016 over her rejection of a ballot measure that would impose new campaign finance and ethics restrictions on public officials. That suit was quickly dismissed.

Metro on 04/21/2018

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