Arkansas ballot news
From Ballotpedia
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| Propositions • | Recall | • Law |
Here you'll find a collection of ballot news stories from Arkansas.
Small town mayor to run for U.S. Senate
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| Propositions • | Recall | • Law |
ACLU files lawsuit against Arkansas, challenges ballot access
LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas: Arkansas Secretary of State Charlie Daniels recently decertified the Green Party as a political party, and the American Civil Liberties Union is taking offense. The ACLU and it’s Arkansas Branch filed a federal lawsuit on August 27, 2009 challenging the secretary’s decision.
According to the lawsuit, the secretary violated state law and free speech rights. ACLU Senior Staff Attorney Bryan Sells stated:"The First Amendment protects not only the right of third parties to compete in the political arena but also the right of individual voters to support the candidates who best reflect their political views."[1]
McDaniel rejects another Arkansas ballot title
LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas: Dustin McDaniel, the Arkansas Attorney General, has rejected the name and ballot title of the Arkansas Child Neglect Investigation Reform Initiative (2010).[2]
Jeremy Peterson, a resident of Fort Smith, is the sponsor of the measure. He intends to re-submit the measure to the attorney general.
Arkansas initiative to lengthen terms certified
LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas: Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel has certified the popular name and ballot title of a proposed constitutional amendment that would extend the terms of county officials from two to four years. Supporters can now begin gathering signatures to place the measure on the November 2010 general election ballot. They have until July 2, 2010 to collect 74,468 signatures to qualify the measure.[3]
The proposal is similar to one certified two years ago, which only extended term lengths of county sheriffs. Supporters of that initiative failed to get the required signatures in time for the 2008 election ballot.
Arkansas ballot initiative may extend terms of county officials
LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas: Supporters of a proposed initiated constitutional amendment to the Arkansas Constitution that, if enacted, will extend the terms of county officials from two to four years, may start circulating their petition for signatures now that Dustin McDaniel, Arkansas Attorney General, has certified a ballot title for the measure.[4],[5]
The measure is supported by a group called Sheriffs for Four-Year Terms Committee, which in turn is supported by the Arkansas Sheriffs Association. They have until July 2, 2010 to collect 74,468 signatures to qualify the measure for the November 2010 ballot in Arkansas.
If the measure passes, it will extend the length of terms for county sheriffs, county judges, county clerks, circuit clerks, county treasurers, county collectors of taxes, county assessors, county coroners, county surveyors and constables.
Arkansas Attorney General rejects union-ballot proposal
LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas: Dustin McDaniel, Arkansas Attorney General, has once again rejected a proposed constitutional amendment that would require union elections to be conducted via secret ballot. McDaniels said in a prepared statement that the new proposal, brought by the group Save our Secret Ballot in Arkansas, is ambiguous and "in some respects even more confusing than the previous proposal". No petitions can be circulated before the attorney general certifies the ballot title and popular name of all measures within the proposal, which he has refused to do.[6]
McDaniel has maintained in regards to this revision his previous criticisms of the original proposal, which he said was unclear as to what effect the measure's adoption would have on existing state law: "The fundemental right of individuals to vote by secret ballot is already enshrined in the Constitution, raising the question of how...your proposed measure would change existing law".[7]
The group proposing the amendment is chaired by State Senator Gilbert Baker, a Republican considering a potential challenge to Democrat U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln in 2010. Lincoln's seat has been heavily targeted in recent months, particularly for her lack of clarity regarding her support of the Employee Free Choice Act pending in Congress.[8]
Republicans are still skeptical despite her expressed opposition to the EFCA, which would take away union employees' right to a secret ballot and force Federal arbitration on businesses. The act itself has been called by many simply "undemocratic", and Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky has said, "To approve it would be to subvert the right to bargain freely over working terms and conditions. It would also strip members of a newly recognized union of their right to accept or reject a contract".[9]
Arkansas Supreme Court hears lawsuit on Amendment 74
LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas: On May 21, 2009, the Arkansas Supreme Court held hearings on a lawsuit filed in 2005 by fourteen Arkansas public school districts against the state of Arkansas. The lawsuit maintains that the state government has failed to provide as much funding to public school districts as it is required to do under the terms of Arkansas Amendment 74.[10]
Attorney General in Arkansas rejects "secret ballot" initiative wording
LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas: Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel has rejected the ballot title of the Arkansas Secret Ballot Amendment (2010), a proposed initiated constitutional amendment that would require that union elections be conducted by secret ballot.
"Save Our Secret Ballot in Arkansas", chaired by Gilbert Baker, a GOP state senator, hopes to qualify the measure for the November 2010 ballot in Arkansas.
McDaniel's office said the ballot title for the measure proposed by the group is confusing. The group will be able to submit revisions to McDaniel's office.[11]
Arkansans will decide whether hunting is a constitutional right
LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas: On April 6, 2009, the Arkansas State Legislature voted to place a Hunting Rights Amendment on the November 2010 ballot as a proposed constitutional amendment to the Arkansas Constitution.[12]
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