From the Arkansas Advocate:
An Arkansas judge on Thursday blocked implementation of a 2023 state law that increased the signature requirements for measures to qualify for the ballot.
Pulaski County Circuit Judge Shawn Johnson’s ruling prevents the state from enforcing Act 236 of 2023, which increased the number of counties where ballot initiative groups must gather a minimum number of signatures from 15 to 50.
The League of Women Voters of Arkansas filed a lawsuit in 2023, arguing the measure violated the Arkansas Constitution.
“We filed this lawsuit three years ago immediately following its passage and today we celebrate the striking down of this thinly veiled attempt to silence the voters,” Arkansas League President Bonnie Miller said in a statement. “This is a good day for the people.”
Spokesperson Jeff LeMaster said the attorney general’s office has reviewed the court’s ruling and plans to appeal.
Johnson said the law “clearly and unmistakably conflicts” with Article 5 Section 1 of the Arkansas Constitution, which requires sponsors of ballot measures to collect signatures from “at least fifteen counties of the state.” Act 236 changes the number to “at least fifty counties.”
“In faithful adherence to the precedents of our appellate courts, this measure impermissibly restricts the right of the people to petition for initiated acts—a reserved power expressly guaranteed by the Arkansas Constitution,” Johnson wrote.
Johnson also said the state’s argument that the case should be dismissed because of sovereign immunity lacked merit. Sovereign immunity is the legal doctrine that the state cannot be sued in its own courts.
