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Kristin Higgins
Public Policy Center
Phone: 501-671-2160
Email: khiggins@uada.edu
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In the Weeds: The Absentee Voting Amendment of 2024
Update: This proposal did not qualify for the 2024 ballot.
Go "deep into the weeds" with us on The Absentee Voting Amendment of 2024, a proposed Arkansas ballot issue. Find links and more information about the proposal.
We will publish a voter guide on all 2024 Arkansas ballot issues in October. In the meantime, this blog post shares information about this proposed citizen initiative.
Ballot Information
The popular name may be called the title by some people:
The Absentee Voting Amendment of 2024
Sometimes called a ballot summary, this is the information that appears on voter petitions and would appear on the ballot if the issue qualifies:
An amendment to the Arkansas Constitution declaring that absentee voting in the state of Arkansas is not a right but a privilege; amending Amendment 50 to add additional sections effectuating a policy and practice in which absentee ballots may only be distributed within the 30 days before election day, limited to only registered voters who are unable to be present at the polls on election day because they are physically absent from the county in which they are registered to vote, or they are hospitalized, incarcerated, or in a long-term care facility within the county in which they are registered to vote; requiring the county clerk to distribute an absentee ballot only to a requesting and qualified voter; prohibiting absentee ballot harvesting by limiting the touching, handling, or possessing of absentee ballots to the requesting voter, an individual assisting a disabled voter, the United States Postal Service, or a duly appointed and authorized election official; allowing an individual assisting a disabled voter to return the disabled voter’s absentee ballot to the county clerk’s office only by placing the voted ballot into the custody of the United States Postal Service but not by returning the ballot in person at the physical office of the county clerk; preventing the tracking of absentee ballots once they have been sent or provided to the voter unless the voter is tracking his or her own ballot or verifying that his or her cast absentee ballot has been received by a duly authorized election official; protecting information about who has requested an absentee ballot; ensuring that all absentee ballots are counted on election day before the early or election day votes are counted; prohibiting the counting of any absentee ballots not physically present and in the canvassing or tabulation process by the close of the polls on election day; exempting Ark. Const. amend. 51, § 9(i), which allows certain groups of citizens to vote without prior registration by absentee ballot, and any ballots requested, obtained, cast, canvassed, or counted pursuant to the federal Uniform Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act from the terms of this amendment; prohibiting any election in this state from being conducted using an internet, Bluetooth, or wireless connection; requiring that absentee ballots and absentee voting that does not strictly conform to the requirements of this amendment not be counted; and directing the Arkansas General Assembly to allocate funding to effectuate and implement the terms of this amendment.
The Arkansas Attorney General is responsible for certifying that popular names and ballot titles are free from misleading information. Only after this certification can sponsors start collecting voter signatures.
Date Certified: Jan. 11, 2024
Sponsors must collect signatures from at least 90,704 Arkansas voters, with a certain percentage coming from at least 50 counties. The deadline to submit signatures is July 5, 2024.
Ethics Commission Information
Supporters and opponents of a proposed ballot issue are required to file paperwork with the Arkansas Ethics Commission upon raising or spending $500.
Restore Election Integrity Arkansas
To see the financial statements filed by Restore Election Integrity Arkansas, go to https://www.arkansasethics.com/ and click on "LO-BQC, BQC, AND LQC FILINGS"
Use the drop down menu to find the group's name. Doing this will reveal their filings with the Arkansas Ethics Commission.
As of April 5, 2024, there are no opponents registered with the Arkansas Ethics Commission.
Websites
Websites for supporters and opponents will be added as they are known. As of Feb. 9, there is no publicly known opposition to this proposed ballot issue.
This website is affiliated with one of the sponsors, which is also trying to certify a constitutional amendment to use paper ballots in Arkansas elections.
Lawsuits
Lawsuits may be filed throughout the Arkansas ballot issue process. When that occurs, we will provide links to those case files below.
Sponsors of this proposed ballot issue filed a lawsuit on Jan. 9, 2024 against Secretary of State John Thurston seeking to find the 50-county voter signature requirement unconstitutional. Conrad Reynolds and the Arkansas Voter Integrity Initiative also want the Supreme Court to void a law that returned the ballot title review process back to the Attorney General's Office.
Court: Arkansas Supreme Court
Case Summary: https://caseinfonew.arcourts.gov/opad/case/CV-24-13