New requirements for ballot initiatives and constitutional amendments in Arkansas are proving to be increasingly challenging, and simply out of reach for many groups. The struggles center around the state legislature’s passage of Act 236 in 2023. Now, several groups are facing those new challenges as the deadline looms to file those signatures by July 5.
Until the measure was enacted, the Arkansas Constitution had required the collection of signatures from at least 8% of citizens from 15 counties. The law changed the minimum number of counties from 15 to 50. Supporters of Act 236 contend the change will give citizens in rural areas of Arkansas more of a voice. But some lawmakers, including Rep. Nicole Clowney, D-Fayetteville lamented that the measure would have the opposite effect. “This would make it much harder for the average Arkansan to get something done.”
As politics and government reporter Josie Lenora, with Little Rock Public Radio reports, there are seven groups or people who are pushing amendments and initiatives. Six of those groups are scrambling in the final stretch to collect as many signatures as they can. That one exception: self-proclaimed car guy David Dinwiddie. His proposition would make it easier to classify your car as an antique. Dinwiddie is resigned to the fact that he just doesn't have the resources to collect all the signatures he needs by July 5.
“I’m not saying it's impossible,” he said. “But for one person to be collecting signatures, you would have to be working six days a week for about a year.” And that costs money, and a lot of time spent standing in populated places asking people to sign your petition. It can be a lot to ask of unpaid volunteers.
Lenora points out that many groups are using third-party authenticator companies to verify signatures. But that too costs money.
