From the Arkansas Advocate:
The Arkansas Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit Wednesday that sought to reverse the secretary of state’s decision to disqualify a direct democracy ballot measure from the ballot.
Supporters of the proposed constitutional amendment filed the lawsuit earlier this month after Secretary of State Cole Jester rejected thousands of petition signatures in favor of the ballot measure because the incorrect ballot name was on the nearly 20,000 petition pages.
The state argued the lawsuit should be dismissed because officials were following the law and that the court had previously upheld the prohibition on counting signatures on petitions with the incorrect popular name.
The court’s one-page order did not elaborate on the reason for the dismissal.
The lawsuit had asked the Arkansas Supreme Court to order the secretary of state to verify signatures submitted in favor of putting the measure on November’s ballot.
Jester, who was appointed secretary of state by Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, praised the high court’s ruling.
“The rule of law is foundational in this country,” Jester said in a statement Wednesday. “As a constitutional lawyer and as the Secretary of State, I fight every day to make sure the law is followed as written.”
Protect AR Rights sponsored the proposed measure, which would have prohibited lawmakers from amending or repealing constitutional amendments approved by voters.
The group expressed disappointment Wednesday over the secretary’s handling of the 108,000 signatures it submitted and said the lawsuit’s outcome reinforces why the measure is necessary.
“The ballot measure process has never faced a greater threat than it does now,” the group said in a statement. “Subject to the whims of politicians and power-hungry officials, the citizen-led petition process and the constitutional rights of every Arkansan remain at risk.”
The high court filed its formal orders to dismiss the suit Wednesday evening, less than three hours after Sanders announced the appointment of Cory Cox as a special justice.
Cox will temporarily serve on the court in place of Barbara Webb who is recovering from a head injury she sustained during a fall at her home in May.
The Arkansas Supreme Court is technically nonpartisan, but Republican-linked justices hold a 5-2 majority that includes Webb.
“This decision closes the legal path for placing the amendment on the November ballot, but it does not end the broader fight to protect Arkansas’s citizen initiative process,” Protect AR Rights said. “This work must continue if we believe Regnat Populus [the people rule].”
The ruling comes nearly two years after the Arkansas Supreme Court upheld the state’s rejection of petitions submitted in favor of putting an abortion rights measure on the ballot that year.
Wednesday’s ruling means the only proposed constitutional amendments going before voters in November are three referred to the ballot by legislators. Voters will also consider a proposal to issue up to $500 million in bonds for water-related projects.
