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Kristin Higgins
Public Policy Center
Phone: 501-671-2150
Email: khiggins@uada.edu
University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture
Cooperative Extension Service
2301 S. University Avenue
Little Rock, AR 72204
Casino Repeal, Abortion Access and Medical Marijuana Expansion Groups Submit Petitions
Aug. 22 is the deadline for the Arkansas Secretary of State to send the statewide ballot to county clerks.
On Friday, sponsors of three proposed constitutional amendments submitted hundreds of thousands of Arkansas voter signatures to qualify their issues for November's ballot.
They won't know for at least two more weeks if they have enough voter signatures to be on the ballot out right or if they will qualify for additional time to collect more voter signatures.
Two shifts of part-time employees will review petition pages for errors over the next week at the Capitol before actual voter signature counting begins, election officials said. Ballot issue groups need at least 90,704 voter signatures statewide, with a certain percentage coming from at least 50 counties. A recent state law increased the number of counties where signatures must be collected, from 15 counties to 50 counties.
Petitions Submitted Friday
(1) Local Voters in Charge was the first group Friday morning to turn in petitions. The group wants to remove Pope County as a casino gaming location in the Arkansas Constitution. Voters in 2018 approved Amendment 100, which allowed casino gaming at the horse and dog tracks, as well as at new locations in Jefferson and Pope counties.
Total Submitted: 162,181 voter signatures
(2) Arkansans for Patient Access wants to expand qualifying conditions for medical marijuana in Arkansas and allow people with medical marijuana cards to grow some cannabis plants at home.
Total Submitted: 111,402 voter signatures
(3) Arkansans for Limited Government had supporters and opponents lining the halls of the Capitol building on Friday afternoon, with groups in the rotunda and outside the Old Supreme Court room cheering efforts to put abortion access in the Arkansas Constitution. People holding "Decline to Sign" placards also gathered to show their opposition to abortion.
Total submitted: 101,525 voter signatures
Fell Short But Will Try Again, Groups Say
Sponsors of four ballot issues that fell short of signature requirements said Friday they would try again for the 2026 ballot.
"It's been gratifying to see so many people from across the state with no interest other than believing in open government and the right of any citizen to obtain information to work so hard," said Ashley Wimberley, director of the Arkansas Press Association and a sponsor of two ballot issues that would have hand-in-hand enshrined the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act into the state constitution and state law.
The group did not release any numbers on signatures but said "we were short on time."
That message was reiterated by members of the Arkansas Period Poverty Project who wanted to eliminate state and local sales tax on feminine hygiene products, such as pads and tampons, as well as on diapers.
Shannie Jackson with the group submitted their petitions right at closing time Friday.
"Everything we did today mattered, even though we didn't make it," she said after turning in 43,831 signatures from across the state. The group needed at least 72,563 signatures to qualify their proposed law for November's ballot.
Representatives of For Ar Kids also submitted an affidavit Friday despite not having enough signatures to qualify for the ballot. According to the Secretary of State's Office, the group submitted 69,968 signatures for The Arkansas Educational Rights Amendment of 2024.