From the Arkansas Advocate:
Volunteers armed with clipboards will be collecting signatures at Arkansas festivals, farmers markets and other locations over the next seven weeks as three initiative campaigns race to qualify for the November ballot.
Canvassers for two competing direct-democracy measures and a third education proposal have less than two months to submit thousands of signatures to the secretary of state. Several other campaigns that had language approved for proposed initiatives aren’t actively circulating petitions.
Arkansas is one of 24 states that allows citizen-led initiatives. The majority-Republican Legislature has implemented restrictions on the initiative process in recent years, but some of the new laws have been blocked by federal courts.
Save AR Democracy is one of two groups pursuing a constitutional amendment to strengthen the state’s direct democracy process, which allows Arkansans to propose laws or constitutional amendments and place them on the ballot for a statewide vote.
The proposals’ supporters said they’re needed to combat new laws that make the initiative and referendum process more difficult. Proponents of the laws have said the restrictions are needed to protect the process’ integrity.
Bonnie Miller, Save AR Democracy chair and League of Women Voters of Arkansas president, said their all-volunteer campaign is not yet halfway to their signature goal. While the looming July 3 deadline is stressful, Miller remains optimistic.
“We’re not going to stop,” she said. “And you never know. I’ve been involved in several of these campaigns and sometimes magic just really happens at the end, in those final days.”
Sponsors must collect 90,704 signatures from registered voters for constitutional amendments.
If Save AR Democracy’s proposed measure qualifies and is approved by voters, it would prohibit lawmakers from amending Article 5 Section 1 of the Arkansas Constitution, which outlines the state’s initiative and referendum process.
The measure would also prohibit lawmakers from amending or repealing constitutional amendments approved by Arkansans and require voters to approve new laws that affect this process, among other things.
The goal of the proposal is to safeguard direct democracy, which is not a partisan issue, Miller said.
“We see people all across the political spectrum who use this process to put forth their ideas, their policies,” she said. “That’s democracy.”
Preserving this tool is also important to Protect AR Rights, who is pursuing its own amendment that would make the initiative and referendum process a “fundamental right.”
The measure seeks to prohibit lawmakers from amending or repealing constitutional amendments approved by voters. It would also make changes to the petition process, including requiring voters to be notified when their signature will be disqualified and providing time to correct the disqualifying error.
The proposal is vying for the ballot months after the state Supreme Court said the Legislature has the power to change voter-backed constitutional amendments.
Protect AR Rights spokesperson Gennie Diaz said direct democracy is “sacred to the Arkansas identity.”
“We’ve had it for more than 100 years,” Diaz said. “This is truly a mechanism by which the people can have a direct say in shaping laws and the Constitution in Arkansas, and we want to keep that and preserve that.”
Bill Kopsky, executive director of the Arkansas Public Policy Panel and a member of the Protect AR Rights coalition, said these protections are necessary because lawmakers are “constantly attacking” direct democracy.
“We run a real risk of losing the right to petition government through ballot measures if we don’t pass the ballot measure rights amendment,” he said.
The Arkansas Public Policy Panel is also working with the For AR Kids coalition, who is pursuing an education-focused constitutional amendment that would require universal access to early childhood education for 3- and 4-year-olds and education support for students living in poverty.
For AR Families, a coalition that favors school choice, relaunched last month in opposition to the education amendment, which would also require private schools receiving state funds under Arkansas’ school voucher program to meet the same standards as public schools.
Kopsky said he’s not worried about opposition and feels confident in the education amendment campaign with increased traffic to the group’s website. Both he and Diaz said they’re encouraged by volunteer registrations.
“We’re feeling like it’s clicking with people now, and we’re excited to see the progress we can make in the next six weeks,” Diaz said.
Continuous challenges
Arkansas lawmakers passed several laws in 2025 that significantly tightened requirements on gathering signatures for ballot initiatives.
The laws require canvassers to 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 law prohibits ballot titles from being written above an eighth-grade reading level.
Save AR Democracy and Protect AR Rights challenged these laws, and a federal judge blocked their enforcement in November.
While this may alleviate some burdens on canvassers, collecting the requisite number of signatures doesn’t guarantee a proposal’s spot on the ballot. Initiatives with sufficient signatures can still be rejected on a technicality or a court challenge.
In 2024, a ballot measure to expand abortion access in Arkansas was tossed over paperwork errors. Sponsors appealed the rejection to the Arkansas Supreme Court, who sided with the secretary of state’s decision to disqualify the measure.
Paused proposals
After failing to qualify for the 2024 election cycle, sponsors of two measures targeting government transparency and eliminating the sales tax on diapers and feminine hygiene products quickly resubmitted their proposals for 2026.
The attorney general approved their ballot language in July 2024, but neither group is collecting signatures.
David Dinwiddie, a perennial proposer of initiatives, received approval for two ballot measures in April, but said he doesn’t have the money or staff to collect signatures. Dinwiddie, a semi-retired Arkansan running for Justice of the Peace in Jefferson County, said simply sharing his ideas might spur action.
“If it shows up, it may inspire some of these state legislators to sponsor that bill in the General Assembly,” he said.
One measure proposes abolishing the position of constable, which Dinwiddie said is “an antiquated office” that lacks the infrastructure to be supported in modern law enforcement.
His second measure aims to change Justice of the Peace terms from two to four years to match other county offices, which Dinwiddie said would save counties money by not requiring an election every other year.
University of Arkansas students pursuing a constitutional amendment to protect the state’s environment are shifting their attention to 2028 after their proposed ballot language was again rejected by the attorney general in April.
Kevin Durden, one of four UA students working on the measure, described the process as “incredibly frustrating and incredibly difficult to navigate” at times. However, Durden said he was grateful for the experience because it gave him a way to channel his frustration and anxiety about the world.
“Even though it didn’t work out this time and we’re having to regroup and refocus on next year, everything that we learned this year has been useful…we’re still very much excited to be working on something that can hopefully improve the lives of Arkansans,” he said.
Durden said he and his classmates would like to help support other ballot measures this summer. If a direct democracy measure passes, it could help ease their proposal’s path to approval in 2028, he said.
Organizers said they can always use more volunteers, not only for collecting signatures, but for notarizing forms, transporting petitions, raising funds and spreading the word about their measures.
Volunteers Marla and Bill Dollar said they were “trying to help save democracy” while collecting signatures for the education and direct democracy campaigns during a farmers market on the downtown Fayetteville Square last week.
Although gathering nearly 91,000 signatures is a tall task, Bill said getting a few signatures every day can add up.
“It’s a big ask, but it’s sort of like eating an elephant — one bite at a time,” he said. “And that’s what we’re trying to do, just keep slogging through.”
