From the Arkansas Advocate:
A federal judge delayed ruling Tuesday in a case challenging new state laws that plaintiffs argue violate the First Amendment and hinder their ability to collect signatures for citizen-initiated ballot measures.
The original suit was brought by ballot committee Save AR Democracy and the League of Women Voters of Arkansas, which is in the process of gathering signatures for a 2026 ballot initiative. League President Bonnie Miller and Benton County chapter President Danielle Quesnell are also plaintiffs.
Two other ballot question groups, Protect AR Rights and For AR Kids, joined as intervenor-plaintiffs in July. Arkansas Secretary of State Cole Jester and Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin are defendants.
The plaintiffs say the laws are intended to stifle direct democracy, a process by which Arkansans can propose new laws or constitutional amendments and place them on the ballot for a statewide vote. They asked Chief Judge Timothy Brooks of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas to issue a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against six of the laws they are challenging while the lawsuit is ongoing.
Brooks’ delay means the 2025 laws, now in effect, will continue to apply.
The 2025 laws include numerous rules that significantly tighten the requirements for signature gathering on ballot initiatives. Canvassers must now inform signers that petition fraud is a criminal offense, request a photo ID from potential signers, and ensure the potential signer reads the petition’s ballot title or has it read to them, with failure to do so resulting in a misdemeanor charge. Another 2025 law prohibits ballot titles from being written above an eighth-grade reading level.
Another recent law the plaintiffs are seeking to halt requires ballot question committees to submit all the names and addresses of canvassers to the Attorney General’s Office in advance of certification, a provision the plaintiffs’ attorneys argue would essentially make public sensitive private information that bad actors could take advantage of, as the records are subject to public disclosure under the state’s Freedom of Information Act. The law also gives the attorney general discretion to toss out signatures if canvassers did not disclose their names and addresses prior to submitting the petitions.
A 2023 law also being challenged by the plaintiffs in Pulaski County Circuit Court forces canvassers to collect signatures from voters in 50 counties, as opposed to the previous 15-county requirement.
Brooks did not indicate which way he intended to rule, but emphasized it will take time to come to a conclusion after nearly four hours of debate, in addition to hundreds of pages of court documents and affidavits he accepted into the record on Tuesday.
“There’s a lot for the court to consider,” Brooks said. “But we will issue a written judgement as soon as we can.”
In comments immediately following the hearing, Miller told the Arkansas Advocate she was “feeling good” about the afternoon’s proceedings.
“This has been something that we’ve been working on for a really long time, so it was wonderful to be in court today,” Miller said. “We’re hopeful that we can get some relief because we’re out collecting signatures right now.”
David Couch, attorney for the League of Women Voters of Arkansas, also took a positive view.
“I feel just as good coming out as I went in,” Couch said immediately after. “I think these laws are unconstitutional. I think we clearly showed that to the judge today.”
