Latest news with #ArkansasPublicPolicyPanel
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Arkansas coalition submits proposal to protect ‘fundamental right' to direct democracy
Arkansas Public Policy Panel Executive Director Bill Kopsky discusses a proposed constitutional amendment to preserve direct democracy in Arkansas during a press conference at the state Capitol on May 19, 2025. Kopsky's organization is a member of Protect AR Rights, the ballot question committee that submitted its proposal to the attorney general's office on Monday. Other coalition members, including Kymara Seals (right) stand behind him. (Sonny Albarado/Arkansas Advocate) An Arkansas ballot question committee announced Monday it had submitted a proposed constitutional amendment to protect voters' right to direct democracy. The Arkansas Ballot Measure Rights Amendment, sponsored by Protect AR Rights, would amend Article 5 Section 1 of the Arkansas Constitution, the section that governs the state's initiative and referendum process, to designate voters' right to propose laws and constitutional amendments that can be put to a statewide vote as a 'fundamental right.' This is the second such effort proposed this year in response to state lawmakers approving about a dozen direct democracy-related laws during the 2025 legislative session. Supporters of the new laws have said they will ensure the integrity of the initiative and referendum process, while opponents have argued it will make it more difficult for citizen-led initiatives to qualify for the ballot. The direct democracy process allows Arkansans to propose new laws or constitutional amendments and put them to a statewide vote. Arkansas is one of 24 states that allows citizen-led initiatives, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Members of the six organizations that comprise the coalition behind Protect AR Rights gathered inside the Capitol to formally announce their ballot measure Monday. During the press conference, Arkansas Public Policy Panel Executive Director Bill Kopsky said their proposal 'strengthens three fundamental citizen rights' in the state Constitution — the right to propose ballot measures, the right to gather signatures on petitions and the right to sign a ballot measure petition. 'Sadly some politicians don't trust voters…and they've stripped the right to the ballot measure process away from us,' Kopsky said. 'They are rigging the rules to make it nearly impossible for everyday Arkansans to propose ballot measures to ask their fellow citizens to sign and support measures and to even sign one themselves. We must stand up to this unprecedented power grab.' Arkansas grassroots organizations seek to intervene in lawsuit challenging direct democracy laws The Arkansas Ballot Measure Rights Amendment would make several changes to the state's initiative and referendum process, including prohibiting the General Assembly from amending or repealing constitutional amendments that voters approved; current law allows lawmakers to do so by a two-thirds majority vote. The proposed measure would only grant that authority for initiated acts. The measure would also make changes to the signature-gathering process by prohibiting a requirement that signatures be collected from more than 15 counties. A 2023 law, which is being challenged in court, increased the threshold to 50 counties. If a qualified voter's signature is deemed insufficient and therefore will be disqualified and not counted, the proposed measure would require the elector to be notified and given at least 10 business days to correct 'any identified insufficiency.' Notification and a minimum cure period of 10 business days would also be required for the sponsors of a measure if there is a filing error. The proposed constitutional amendment would also require a ballot title challenge to be filed within 10 business days of the title's approval and be 'tried at once with expedited review if appealed.' Additionally, the measure defines petition fraud and declares it a criminal offense. The League of Women Voters of Arkansas is also pursuing its own proposed constitutional amendment aimed at protecting voters' right to direct democracy. Attorney General Tim Griffin has rejected the measure three times. In his most recent rejection earlier this month, Griffin cited a new law that prohibits ballot titles from being written above an eighth-grade reading level. This was the first time he rejected a proposed ballot measure under Act 602, which became law in April. Protect AR Rights tried to make its proposal 'as readable as possible,' but Kopsky said he doesn't think it's possible to meet the eighth-grade reading level and the clarity standard. For that reason, Protect AR Rights last week filed a motion to intervene in a League of Women Voters of Arkansas lawsuit challenging new state laws, he said. 'We believe we'll get injunctive relief,' Kopsky said. 'If we don't, we'll have to rethink our strategy.' The League of Women Voters of Arkansas' lawsuit alleges eight recently approved laws governing direct democracy violate the First and 14th amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Protect AR Rights noted in its motion to intervene that the committee wants to challenge additional laws not included in the lawsuit, including Act 602 of 2025. Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families is a member of the Protect AR Rights coalition. Executive Director Keesa Smith-Brantley said Monday that the group's goal is for the proposals from Protect AR Rights and the League of Women Voters of Arkansas to work together. 'We do not want there to be any confusion. We believe that they have critical components,' she said. 'There were things that we felt like we needed to equally add to make sure that we enshrine the rights of Arkansans in the Constitution, but we are hopeful to be able to work together in this process and talk about ways that we can make sure that both of the measures that we're working on get passed.' Under state law, the attorney general's office has 10 business days to approve or reject the proposed ballot measures. The League of Women Voters submitted the latest version of its proposal May 7 and is owed a response from Griffin by Wednesday. The deadline for a response on Protect AR Rights' measure is June 3. The attorney general's office does not have any other pending ballot title proposals, Griffin's communication's director Jeff LeMaster confirmed Monday. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Arkansas grassroots organizations seek to intervene in lawsuit challenging direct democracy laws
Ann Hudson, Carrie Clay and Marcia Norman sort through thousands of petitions inside the Arkansas Public Policy Panel's Little Rock office on July 2, 2024. (Mary Hennigan/Arkansas Advocate) Two Arkansas ballot question committees on Wednesday filed a motion to intervene in a federal lawsuit challenging new direct democracy-related laws. The American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas, Elias Law Group LLP and Shults Law Firm LLP filed the motion in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas on behalf of For AR Kids and Protect AR Rights. The former is a grassroots coalition that's received approval from the attorney general to gather signatures for its proposed education-focused constitutional amendment. The latter plans to file its own proposed ballot initiative for the 2026 election to protect Arkansans' 'right to propose, sign, petition and campaign for ballot initiatives to improve their communities,' according to a Statement of Organization filed with the Arkansas Ethics Commission Friday. Protect AR Rights is composed of several groups, including Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, Arkansas Appleseed, Arkansas Citizens First Congress, Arkansas Public Policy Panel, the Arkansas State Conference of the NAACP and For AR People. 'This case is about protecting core political speech,' ACLU of Arkansas Legal Director John Williams said in a statement. 'Arkansas voters have a constitutional right to speak out, organize, and propose laws through the ballot initiative process. The laws we're challenging are deliberate efforts to suppress that speech and silence the voices of ordinary Arkansans in favor of entrenched political power.' Arkansas attorney general rejects first ballot measure under new law The original lawsuit was filed last month by the League of Women Voters of Arkansas who alleges eight recently approved laws governing direct democracy violate the First and 14th amendments to the U.S. Constitution. The case is assigned to Judge Timothy Brooks. Arkansans can propose new laws or constitutional amendments and put them to a statewide vote through the direct democracy process. Arkansas is one of 24 states that allows citizen-led initiatives, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The majority of the laws challenged in the lawsuit regulate the petition-gathering portion of the initiative and referendum process. New requirements include directing signature gatherers, known as canvassers, to sign a 'true affidavit,' to request a photo ID from potential signers and inform them that petition fraud is a criminal offense, among other things. According to Wednesday's court filings, the intervenors want to challenge additional laws, including a 2023 law that requires petitioners to gather signatures from 50 counties instead of 15 counties and Act 602 of 2025, which prohibits ballot titles from being written above an eighth grade reading level. Attorney General Tim Griffin cited the new law for the first time when he rejected a proposed ballot measure from the League of Women Voters last week. In Wednesday's filings, the plaintiffs argue that intervening in the League of Women Voters lawsuit is more efficient than filing a separate lawsuit, which they said would likely be consolidated with the League's complaint under federal court rules. Legislators and supporters of the new laws have said they will bring integrity to the initiative and referendum process, while opponents argue they will make it nearly impossible for citizens' proposals to qualify for the ballot. Protect AR Rights spokesperson Bill Kopsky called the laws 'a blatant power grab by politicians trying to silence voters.' 'Direct democracy has been under attack in the Arkansas Legislature really since 2012,' he said. 'Passing just bill after bill, it's death by 1,000 paper cuts, making the process harder for people.' For AR Rights formed in 2020 in opposition to Issue 3, a proposed constitutional amendment referred by the Legislature that would have changed the initiative and referendum process by requiring voter petitions to be submitted earlier and increasing the number of counties where signatures must be collected, among other things. Issue 3 failed with 56% voting against it. Two years later, For AR Rights fought against Issue 2, another lawmaker-referred constitutional amendment that would have increased the percentage of votes required to pass constitutional amendments and citizen-proposed state laws from a majority to 60% of votes cast. Issue 2 failed with 59% of voters voting against it. Arkansas AG certifies education coalition's 2026 ballot proposal Kopsky is also part of For AR Kids, which submitted and received approval for its proposed constitutional amendment for the 2026 general election after failing to collect enough signatures for the 2024 election. After the conclusion of the 2025 legislative session, Kopsky said the group assessed the new laws and volunteers tried collecting some signatures to learn how difficult it would be to comply with the new requirements. The regulations were 'so onerous that it's nearly impossible to collect signatures,' which is why the group decided to seek to join the League of Women Voters' lawsuit, he said. 'We just view ballot measures as a fundamental right in the Constitution, obviously, but we also see it as a way to cut through the partisanship that is caused by our politicians and special interests,' Kopsky said. 'Arkansans tend not to be super political, which I love about us. It's not about what camp you're in, it's what can we do to make our community better.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
