Arkansas Elections

Not only has the 2016 presidential election cycle deviated from the typical – or expected – script, but detailed analysis by ChamberLeads.com using Little Rock-based Acxiom consumer data shows unusual demographic trends for first time voters, Talk Business & Politics reports.

Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge's office is asking a federal appeals court to allow the state to enforce its restrictions on the abortion pill, saying the law protects the integrity of the medical profession.

Republican Party of Arkansas Chair Doyle Webb is calling on state House candidate Jim Hall "to resign his candidacy" following an appeals court ruling affirming harassment charges. Hall, a Republican from Monticello, maintains his innocence and says he won't step out of the race even though he faces jail time.

"I am not guilty and if I have to vote absentee from the jail I will do it. But I refuse to withdraw from this race," Hall told KUAR News.

In a statement, Chair Webb said Hall should get his personal life in order.

Republicans hoping to further erode Democratic seats in the Arkansas Legislature may have hit a stumbling block in candidate Jim Hall. The House candidate from Drew County is facing jail time for harassment after losing an appeal on Wednesday.

The Democratic Party of Arkansas says the Secretary of State’s office has promised to turn over documents related to 7,730 voters it recommended county clerks remove from voting rolls.

Party legal counsel Chris Burks says Mark Martin’s office did not respond within the required three days to a Freedom of Information Act Request for information.

He says the documents could show why Martin's office requested outdated voter rolls from the state's Crime Information center and distributed them to county clerks.  

The Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation is joining with the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce in opposing two medical marijuana initiatives that are likely to be on the ballot this November.

U.S. Senator Tom Cotton says his party’s presidential nominee Donald Trump should apologize for disparaging exchanges with the family of a Muslim American killed in combat. The Republican senator, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, commented on his affinities and disagreements with Trump’s “underdog” campaign at Tuesday’s meeting of the Political Animals Club in Little Rock.

Prompted by a reporter, Cotton defended Gold Star families. He didn’t initially ask Trump to express remorse.

A proposed constitutional amendment legalizing marijuana for medical use fell short of the number of valid signatures required but will have 30 days to make up the difference.

To qualify for the ballot, proposed amendments this year must collect 84,859 signatures. According to a letter sent by the secretary of state’s office to David Couch of the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment, 72,309 of the 99,629 signatures the group submitted were valid.

Supporters of a plan to legalize casinos in three Arkansas counties have won additional time to gather signatures to put the proposal on the November ballot.

Secretary of State Mark Martin's office on Wednesday said Arkansas Wins in 2016 had fallen short of the 84,859 signatures from registered voters needed to put its proposed constitutional amendment on the November ballot. But at least 75 percent of the group's signatures are valid, qualifying it for another 30 days to circulate petitions.

An effort is forming to oppose ballot initiatives that would legalize medical marijuana, saying it would lead to increased use of the drug and, eventually, full legalization.

The Coalition for Safer Arkansas Communities held an informational meeting Friday that included a message from Terry Benham of Impact Management, who is managing the group’s campaign, Keep Arkansas Safe. The main speaker was Little Rock native and Colorado resident Henny Laster of Smart Colorado, a group that opposes marijuana legalization in that state.

State Representative Sheilla Lampkin of Monticello died of ovarian cancer on Saturday at the age of 70. Earlier in the week, Lampkin announced she was withdrawing her re-election effort due to the malady.

Arkansas's Tom Cotton spoke during prime time at the Republican National Convention on Monday night. The state's junior U.S. Senator echoed military themes familiar to those following his career. Cotton was in the infantry in Iraq and Afghanistan prior to his legal and electoral careers.

Sen. Cotton only mentioned Trump's name once and never said his full name. Cotton said, "In a Trump-Pence administration and with a Republican Congress, help is on the way.” 

Watch Cotton's speech here:

Arkansas Congressman Steve Womack was at the center of holding back the last gasp of the Never Trump movement at the Republican National Convention.

The U.S. Representative for the third district in northwest Arkansas served as chair on Monday afternoon, when rules for the convention were adopted. On a voice vote, Womack determined delegates approved the normal set of rules binding delegates to vote according to primary and caucus results and consequently paving the way to Donald Trump’s nomination.

The Libertarian Party of Arkansas is hoping to take advantage of a special election for a north Arkansas state House race. The party announced plans on Monday to hold a special nominating convention in Yellville at the end of this month.

Republican Kelly Linck vacated the legislative seat earlier this year to take a position at the Department of Human Services, leaving just two months left in the term after the special election.

Libertarian Party Vice Chair Christopher Olson expects open-carry activist Rick Bernard to throw his hat in.

Three Arkansas Republicans will garner much of the limelight for the state at the Republican National Convention with speaking slots, but 40 delegates are also in tow. We’ll be checking in with a handful of Arkansas delegates on the ground in Cleveland throughout this week. 

KUAR will air live coverage of the convention this Monday through Thursday from 7-10 p.m. Tune in to Morning Edition from 6-9 a.m. for recaps and analysis of the night before and previews of the day to come.

Arkansans may have the chance to vote on two medical marijuana initiatives in November. What happens if both pass? The one with the most votes wins, probably. Talk Business and Politics reports.

Arkansas Republicans will have a voice, at least two of them, at next week’s Republican National Convention. U.S. Senator Tom Cotton and Governor Asa Hutchinson revealed Wednesday they have been invited to speak in Cleveland, Ohio. The speakers list has not yet been released by convention staff or the campaign of the presumptive nominee Donald Trump.

Arkansas voters will again consider a medical marijuana proposal in November. After dropping off box loads of petition signatures at the Secretary of State's office a couple of weeks ago, members of the group Arkansans for Compassionate Care say they got word Thursday that enough were valid.

"We did get official news that we are certified for the ballot with 77,516 valid signatures which is nearly 10,000 over the required number. It's absolutely fabulous," said Campaign Director Melissa Fults.

The final results from the latest Talk Business & Politics-Hendrix College Poll indicate strong support among Arkansas voters for medical marijuana. 

A group hoping to put a casino legalization measure on the Arkansas ballot this fall says it has signed an agreement with Cherokee Nation Entertainment to operate one of the casinos.

Arkansas Wins in 2016 announced Thursday the agreement with the Cherokee Nation group to operate a casino proposed in Washington County in northwest Arkansas. The tribe's gaming and hospitality company owns and operates nine casino properties in Oklahoma.

Democratic U.S. Senate hopeful Conner Eldridge is criticizing Republican Sen. John Boozman for opposing an effort to prevent terrorists from buying guns, saying an alternative measure backed by the Arkansas lawmaker doesn't go far enough.

Eldridge told the Political Animals Club on Wednesday that he supports a proposal by Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein that would have let the federal government block many gun sales to known or suspected terrorists.

The Libertarian Party of Arkansas is hoping to ride high hopes for its presidential ticket to automatic placement on the state’s ballot in future elections. On Sunday Libertarians nominated two former Republican governors, Gary Johnson of New Mexico and Bill Weld of Massachusetts, as presidential and vice presidential candidates.

Arkansas party chair Michael Pakko attended the national convention in Orlando and says the volatility of this election cycle gave those there a sense of an opening for the party.

Arkansas’s largest organized labor group, the AFL-CIO, is backing Democratic U.S. House candidate Dianne Curry. The second district candidate’s campaign made the announcement on Thursday following written confirmation of a vote by the labor group earlier this month.

Curry says she hopes to boost the voice of organized labor in the coming election, “we really have to come back around to the fight for the American family.”

Five Arkansas counties are to receive new voting equipment in time for upcoming elections in the fall. This is the first round of equipment given following a successful trial of the new voting system this spring. Secretary of State Spokesman Chris Powell says the new machines are sorely needed.

“The current equipment that most of the state uses is about 10 years old and is nearing the end of its life cycle, so we are looking to upgrade equipment across the state,” Powell says.