Do you care about public K-12 education? Do you care about women’s health issues? Do you care about government transparency? Do you care about these issues, but feel helpless to do anything about them? You may have more influence than you think.
Arkansas allows its registered voters to initiate their own laws and constitutional amendments. Here are some actions that you can take to become involved in making decisions that impact your and your children’s futures.
Are you registered to vote? If not, register immediately at https://vote.gov/register/ar/. If you are registered to vote, vote in every election (local, state, and national). If you did not vote in the previous two federal elections, check voter view from the Office of the Secretary of State or with your county clerk or to make sure your voter registration has not been removed. Also, make sure that your personal information is correct. If you do not vote, you should have no voice in what is happening to you, your family, or your community.
Be informed about candidates and issues appearing on the ballot. The worst reason to vote for or against a candidate or an issue is that your political party, friend, or organization tells you to. Use your God-given brains to educate yourself; then vote for the best choice for improving your community, state, or country. Check the facts from reliable resources, not social media.
Do you understand the ballot initiatives that are proposed for November’s ballot? Arkansas is one of only of only 21 states that allow voter-initiated statutes and only 18 states that allow voter initiated amendments to be placed on the ballot for registered voters to approve or disapprove. These rights should not be taken for granted. We could lose them in any legislative session. Let your voice be heard. Currently, petitioners are gathering signatures to get the following constitutional amendments on the November ballot:
Medical Marijuana Amendment
This amendment will allow medical marijuana patients to grow marijuana (in limited amounts); allow physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, and pharmacists to certify patients; expand qualifying medical conditions; allow patient assessments through telemedicine; accept out-of-state medical marijuana cards; allow adults to possess up to one ounce of marijuana if federal law changes to remove marijuana from the schedule of controlled substances.
Source: Arkansas Advocate, February 21, 2024
Arkansas Abortion Amendment
This amendment would prohibit laws or policies restricting abortion access within 18 weeks from conception; or in cases of rape, incest, or fatal fetal anomaly; or when an abortion is needed to protect the life or health of the mother.
Source: Arkansas Liberty
Educational Rights Amendment of 2024
The Educational Rights Amendment would ensure that every school funded by taxpayers meets the same quality standards as traditional public schools; establish basic education standards, including reading, math, civics, and essential knowledge, within the Arkansas Constitution. In addition, it would provide universal access to key education reforms proven to enhance student learning, such as universal pre-K for 3- and 4 year-olds, after-school and summer programs, support for students in poverty, and quality special education.
Source: Forarkids.org
Absentee Voting Amendment
The Absentee Voting Amendment would place restrictions on absentee voting including changing the deadline to apply for an absentee ballot to 30 days prior to the election date instead of the Friday before the election date.
Source: Ballotpedia.org
Arkansas Government Disclosure Amendment/Act
The Arkansas Government Amendment and Arkansas Government Disclosure Act (two separate ballot issues) establish citizen access to government meetings, records and notices as a constitutionally protected right, establish that the legislature may not change any law that affects transparency without a two-thirds vote in the House and the Senate to refer the question to the vote of the people in the next General Election, and increase sanctions for those who willfully violate the rights protected by the amendment.
Source: Arkansas Citizens for Transparency.org
Other ballot initiatives would create a statute to exempt feminine hygiene products and diapers from sales tax; and repeal the authorization for a casino license in Pope County and require countywide voter approval for any new casino licenses provided for in any future constitutional amendments.
Although Arkansas is one of few states that allows voter-initiated amendments and acts to be placed on the ballot, the Arkansas legislature during its last session made it more difficult to get an amendment or act on the ballot. Prior to 2022, petitioners had to obtain minimum signatures from 15 counties. Now petitioners must gather minimum signatures from 50 counties.
The number of signatures required differ between statutory and constitutional amendments. To get a voter-initiated constitutional amendment on the ballot, petitioners must obtain signatures from at least 10% of the total number of votes cast in the last gubernatorial election, or 90,704 valid signatures. At least 8% of this total are required for voter-initiated state statutes, or 72,563 valid signatures.
If you care about any of these issues, make sure you understand them. If you think the issue should be approved or disapproved by Arkansas voters, sign the petitions related to the issues.
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