Arkansans get to vote on any changes to the state constitution. This year, voters can weigh in on three amendments.
The first two strengthen wording already in the constitution. One is about voting rights, the next about firearms. The third amendment is about economic development districts.
Issue 1
“The Citizens Only Voting Amendment” only changes a few sentences in the Arkansas Constitution.
The amendment changes the wording. “To vote in an election in this state a person shall be: A citizen of the United States.”
The change is “any person may,” to “a person shall.” It also adds sentences explicitly barring non-citizens from voting.
The amendment was championed by state Rep. David Ray, R-Maumelle. He says these edits create a hard limit on who can vote.
“Americans should decide the future of America,” he said.
There isn't a big movement to legalize non-citizen voting, but Ray says he wants to prevent any “bad ideas” from being “exported to Arkansas.”
“I don't want to wake up one day and see a story in the news that the City of Little Rock or the City of Fayetteville is trying to pass an ordinance to, for example, let non-citizens vote in school board elections.”
The amendment has backing from Americans for Citizen Voting, a lobbying group. They are working to pass similar amendments in Kansas and West Virginia.
Issue 2
The next amendment is about guns.
Both the state and federal constitution already protect gun rights. But this amendment is more specific. It explicitly protects someone’s right to own a gun “for lawful hunting and recreational use,” as well as “ammunition, firearm accessories, and firearm components.”
“Our constitution currently mentions the right to keep and bear arms is for the common defense," said state Sen. John Payton, R-Wilburn. “But this goes far enough, that we also recognize that it's an individual right.”
Issue 3
This amendment would allow tax money to help private businesses.
It does this by creating “Economic Development Districts,” or EDDs.
An EDD is an area of land with special privileges. Businesses in an EDD might be allowed to borrow tax money at higher rates or pay less taxes.
This amendment doesn't conjure EDDs out of thin air. Cities or counties will still vote to make them, but we don't know what those elections will look like.
We don't know many details about the privileges of EDDs because the details will be worked out after passage.
“This is a big-picture proposal. And the legislature would come in later and pass all the nitty gritty details.”
That's Kristin Higgins from the University of Arkansas Public Policy Center. Every year she works to help the public understand ballot issues.
She says our current constitution limits EDDs, because to a lot of people they look like debt.
“There was a lot of pushback in the 1870s about debt and spending and using credit of communities to issue bonds,” she said. “So, in 1874 when our current constitution was created there was a lot of limits placed on government.”
State Rep. Robin Lundstrum, R-Springdale, mentioned debt when she voted against sending Issue 3 to the ballot.
“This actually creates a system of politically-connected tax breaks and taxpayer-backed bonds, giving them an unfair advantage over other businesses," she said. "We need to take care of the businesses that are in Arkansas right now, and the way we do that as a government is by getting out of the way.”
Supporters say Issue 3 will be good for business. Kyle Leyenberger, executive director of the Downtown Little Rock Partnership, says EDDs would make Arkansas competitive with surrounding states.
“When I am talking to developers who are considering coming down here to build something here, usually housing, the second think they ask is 'What can you do?' And if it's not a historic tax credit, the answer is really 'We can't do anything here in Arkansas."
He disagrees with the claim the amendment creates debt. He says this will create extra tax revenue instead of putting debt on the people of Arkansas.
Early voting starts October 19.
