Bill requiring more signatures to qualify proposed ballot measures clears state Senate committee

Proposal already rejected by voters in ’20, Senate critic says

Sen. Jim Dotson speaks in favor of a bill more than tripling the number of counties from which signatures would be required to qualify for ballot initiatives. The Senate State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee voted 5-2 to send the measure to the full Senate.
(Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Thomas Metthe)
Sen. Jim Dotson speaks in favor of a bill more than tripling the number of counties from which signatures would be required to qualify for ballot initiatives. The Senate State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee voted 5-2 to send the measure to the full Senate. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Thomas Metthe)

An Arkansas Senate committee on Thursday advanced a bill that would require 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.

In a 5-2 vote, the Senate State Agencies and Governmental Affairs sent House Bill 1419 by Rep. Kendon Underwood, R-Cave Springs, to the 35-member Senate.

Supporters of the bill said it would require sponsors of proposed ballot measures to get more statewide and rural support for the 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.

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.

HB1419 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 number of signatures of registered voters required from these 50 counties would be one half of the designated percentage of registered voters who cast ballots in the last gubernatorial election.

Sen. Jim Dotson, R-Bentonville, told the Senate committee the Arkansas Constitution requires sponsors of ballot measures to turn in signatures of registered voters from at least 15 counties to qualify their measures for the ballot and "that's the floor."

HB1419 would require sponsors to turn in signatures of registered voters from at least 50 counties "so we would have a broader representation of counties when citizens are collecting signatures and more rural counties throughout the state would be represented in that," he said.

But Sen. Clarke Tucker, R-Little Rock, said he opposes the bill, and "I think this plainly violates the language of the state constitution."

In 2019, the Legislature referred to voters a proposed constitutional amendment that would have increased the number of counties from which sponsors of proposed ballot measures would be required to collect signatures of registered voters from 15 to 45 to qualify their measures for the ballot, and "the people of Arkansas rejected that in November 2020 in the general election," he said.

"This [bill] takes that constitutional amendment, which the people rejected, and takes it up five more counties," Tucker said.

"Are we not just flouting the will of the people of Arkansas with this bill?"

In response, Dotson said, "I don't believe so."

That was only part of the proposed constitutional amendment that voters rejected in the 2020 general election, he said, and another part increased the vote threshold for state lawmakers to refer a proposed constitutional amendment to voters.

The proposed constitutional amendment would have required a three-fifths vote of the House and the Senate -- up from the current simple majority vote -- to refer a proposed constitutional amendment to the ballot. The proposed constitutional amendment was Issue 3 on the 2020 general election ballot.

That proposed constitutional amendment was much more encompassing than HB1419, which is "streamlined down," Dotson said.

"I can't speak completely for what every voter was thinking when they read some language in a ballot proposal that sometimes ... maybe not be quite as clear as what was intended for it to be," he said. "They are two completely different proposals in my opinion."

Misty Orpin, executive director of the nonprofit group Common Ground, told the committee that "I do believe that this is a constitutional change and therefore required to be referred to the people of Arkansas" for a vote.

She said the Legislature has proposed constitutional amendments more than three times more often than what the people of Arkansas have over the past 20 years.

"If you want to stop changing the constitution, stop trying to change the constitution because the majority of the changes are coming from this Legislature, and this bill does nothing to curb the ability of the Legislature to put constitutional amendments on the ballot," Orpin said.

Sen. John Payton, R-Wilburn, said he supports HB1419.

"I think when an initiative gets on the ballot, it needs to have overwhelming support of the public," he said.

Tucker countered that "what this bill is about is saying we don't want the people to get issues on the ballot because we might not like what those issues are, so we want to maintain control, and that's what is happening here."

Committee Chairman Sen. Blake Johnson, R-Corning, said "I appreciate this effort, and I want those folks whenever they are trying to amend our constitution to consider my counties in that because every one of them that I represent are small.

"I know it is a lot easier to gather signatures in Pulaski County than it is in Clay County and other small counties like Randolph County," he said.

"I would like my counties to be among those that are in the signature process."

But Sen. Stephanie Flowers, D-Pine Bluff, said she opposes the bill because "I think it is wrong for us to just usurp the power of the people."

On Feb. 22, the House of Representatives voted 79-19 to approve Underwood's HB1419 and send it to the Senate for further action.

A similar bill -- Senate Bill 260 by Dotson -- cleared the Senate State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee on Feb. 16.

Like HB1419, SB260, would increase the number of counties from which groups would have to collect signatures from to at least 15 to at least 50.

Dotson's bill differs from Underwood's legislation in that it would also increase the required number of signatures from these counties from one-half to three-fourths of the designated percentage of registered voters who cast ballots in the previous gubernatorial election.

Information for this article was contributed by Will Langhorne of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.


  photo  “Are we not just flouting the will of the people of Arkansas with this bill?” Sen. Clarke Tucker asked during debate Thursday. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Thomas Metthe)
 
 


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