State Senate committee endorses bill to raise signature requirements for ballot initiatives

Number of counties where signatures sought goes to 50

Jonathan Anderson (right) of Tucson, Ariz., takes a signature from David Wallace of Rogers outside the Bentonville Revenue Office in this May 29, 2020 file photo. Anderson was employed by National Ballot Access. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Ben Goff)
Jonathan Anderson (right) of Tucson, Ariz., takes a signature from David Wallace of Rogers outside the Bentonville Revenue Office in this May 29, 2020 file photo. Anderson was employed by National Ballot Access. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Ben Goff)

An Arkansas Senate committee on Thursday endorsed a bill that would require the sponsors of proposed ballot measures to collect sufficient signatures of registered voters from at least 50 counties, up from the current requirement of 15 counties, to qualify their measures for the ballot.

Supporters of the bill said it would require sponsors of proposed ballot measures to get more statewide and rural buy-in for ballot measures to qualify for the ballot, while opponents said it would violate the Arkansas Constitution and make it more difficult to get proposed ballot measures on the ballot.

In a voice vote with Sen. Clarke Tucker, D-Little Rock, dissenting, the Senate committee sent Senate Bill 260 by Sen. Jim Dotson, R-Bentonville, to the Senate, over the objections from representatives from the Common Ground group and the Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families.

Sponsors of proposed initiated acts are required to obtain the signatures of Arkansas registered voters equal to at least 8% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election to qualify their proposals for the ballot. Sponsors of proposed constitutional amendments are required to obtain the signatures of Arkansas registered voters equal to at least 10% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election to qualify their proposal for the ballot.

SB260 would require the sponsors of proposed ballot measures to collect sufficient signatures of registered voters from at least 50 counties rather than the current requirement of at least 15 counties. The bill also would increase the number of signatures of registered voters required from these counties from one-half to third-fourths of the designated percentage of registered voters who cast ballots in the last gubernatorial election.

[DOCUMENT: Read the bill to increase signature requirements » arkansasonline.com/217sb260/]

Rep. Kendon Underwood, R-Cave Springs, who is the House sponsor of SB260, told the Senate committee that "currently in the state of Arkansas out-of-state special interest groups that come to our state ... can try to change our laws and change our constitution by just getting signatures from 15 counties."

These 15 counties are typically more populated areas and larger counties and the more rural parts of the state can be ignored by the sponsors of proposed ballot measures, he told the Senate committee.

The Arkansas Constitution requires sponsors of proposed ballot measures to collect sufficient signatures of registered voters from at least 15 counties, "so the constitution sets a floor, but it does not set a ceiling on the number of counties that need to be represented in the signature gathering process, so under this bill we are proposing the signatures be collected in 50 counties," Underwood said.

"By passing this bill, we can assure that more Arkansans have a chance to participate in this process and ... well-funded, out-of-state special interests groups can't bypass other parts of the state and the more rural counties in the state, and will require more widespread support," he said.

Misty Orpin, executive director of the nonprofit group Common Ground, told the Senate committee that one of the main pillars of the group is the protection of the powers granted to the people under the Arkansas Constitution.

She said 56% of voters in the 2020 general election voted against a proposed constitutional amendment that, among other things, would have required sponsors of proposed ballot measures to gather sufficient signatures of registered voters from 45 counties, up from the current minimum of 15 counties. The proposed constitutional amendment was Issue 3 on the 2020 general election ballot.

"We have already had this discussion, and the voters of Arkansas have already said they do not want to do this," Orpin said. "If you thought you could have done it by statute then, you would have done it and you would not have referred it to the people."

She said "this bill, if passed, will not stand.

"It is blatantly unconstitutional and it will be struck down, but not before the people of Arkansas have spent pointless money defending a case that is not going to stand," she said.

Rebecca Zimmerman, representing Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, said the bill subverts the will of the voters, who rejected Issue 3 on the 2020 general election ballot.

Senate President Pro Tempore Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs, said he appreciates the sponsors of the bill "that really protects the average person, the voter in Arkansas.

"This brings integrity, protects the people of Arkansas, [and] makes it harder on big out-of-state billionaires to come in and buy [their way into] our constitution," he said.

Sen. John Payton, R-Wilburn, said that "for some billionaire somewhere to sit down with his lawyer and draw up legislation that they prefer, and then put a title on it that they know is popular and then hire people to stand outside sporting events and go around to gas stations, I think that is pretty low bar.

"And I think it is a much lower bar than our founders perceived when they set [requiring sufficient signatures from registered voters in] 15 counties," he said.

Committee Chairman Sen. Blake Johnson, R-Corning, said he supports the bill because he wants to make it harder to amend the Arkansas Constitution, which has been amended so many times.

Tucker said the bill clearly violates the Arkansas Constitution.

"If this passes ... only the biggest money would be able to come in and influence initiated acts and citizen-initiated constitutional amendments, so it is actually in my judgment clamping out the voices of the people," he said.

Voters in 75 counties cast ballots on proposed ballot measures and that's the check on the influence of out-of-state special interest groups, Tucker said.

Afterward, Dotson said he believes his bill is constitutional.

The amended bill includes an emergency clause, so it would become effective on the date of its approval by the governor, the expiration of the time period during which the governor may veto the bill or, if the bill is vetoed by the governor and the veto is overridden, the date the last chamber overrides the vote.

ABSENTEE DROP BOX BAN

In a voice vote with Tucker dissenting, the Senate committee sent Senate Bill 258 by Sen. Tyler Dees, R-Siloam Springs, to the Senate.

Under the bill, a county clerk, public employee or election official would be prohibited from establishing or using a drop box for the purpose of collecting absentee ballots.

"No person shall deliver an absentee ballot through a drop box," under SB258.

Dees said the bill is about election integrity.

"We have been working with the Heritage Foundation as well as the secretary of state's office in order to strengthen our election integrity across our state," he said.

Absentee drop boxes haven't happened in the state, and the bill would prevent absentee drop boxes from starting in the state, Dees said.

"We want to make sure that voters have confidence in our elections," he said.

Dees said he believes his bill is needed because "each drop box across the country acts as a beacon of mistrust for voters." Absentee ballot drop boxes increase the risk for voter fraud, he said.

"The ability to destroy good ballots should make you want to support this ... out of fear of that situation," Dees said.

But Tucker said he hasn't heard any explanation about the increased risk of fraud from absentee ballot boxes that makes sense to him.

"I understand perhaps there would be an increased risk for harming legitimate ballots, but the answer to that is to make sure that the drop boxes are secure," he said.

"We are just passing laws that we don't need, and there could be a need for a drop box in the future that's secure."


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