A proposed ballot measure about Arkansas’ direct democracy process fell short of the signature requirements, Secretary of State Cole Jester announced Thursday, meaning the Arkansas Ballot Measure Rights Amendment will not go before voters in November.
The amendment was put forward by Protect AR Rights, who say the measure is a response to recent legislation that limits grassroots canvassing.
In Arkansas, anyone can propose an amendment to the state constitution, get the ballot title approved by the attorney general, then collect tens of thousands of signatures from across the state. If you make it through these steps, voters can cast ballots for or against the measure.
If passed, the Arkansas Ballot Measure Rights Amendment would have enshrined the grassroots petition gathering process in the state constitution and rolled back several recent laws making the process more difficult. The laws included rules such as requiring titles be written at an eighth-grade reading level, and requiring that signatures be gathered from a minimum of 50 counties instead of 15. Organizers say the laws make the process virtually impossible.
Protect AR Rights said they turned in 108,837 signatures in early July–exceeding the required threshold of 90,704.
But on Thursday, Secretary of State Cole Jester said the group had fallen short. His office also alleged that signature documents contained “fraud or facial errors.”
Jester notified Protect Our Rights Thursday of the decision.
“Notably, 87 petition parts were for a different constitutional amendment, The Educational Rights Amendment of 2026, but were submitted with your petition.”
Other places in the signature gathering document show notarized blank documents, possible duplicate signatures, signatories who do not live in Arkansas, or places where voter information was crossed out or never filled in.
In a statement, Gennie Diaz from Protect AR Rights says the group is consulting their legal team.
“Protect AR Rights remains steadfast in our commitment to defending the constitutional rights of Arkansans, especially the 108,000 voters who signed the petition because they believe the people should retain the power to shape their own government.”
