Arkansas Supreme Court asked to disqualify ballot measure that would block planned casino
4 months, 3 weeks ago

Arkansas Supreme Court asked to disqualify ballot measure that would block planned casino

Associated Press  

— Opponents of a proposal to block a planned casino in Arkansas asked the state Supreme Court Thursday to disqualify the measure from the November ballot. Cherokee Nation Entertainment, which was awarded a license to build and operate the casino, and a newly formed affiliated group filed a lawsuit challenging the proposed constitutional amendment a day after the secretary of state’s office said it qualified for the ballot. The suit also challenges the wording of the ballot proposal, calling it “riddled with flaws.” “Arkansans must be made aware of this deliberate scheme to openly violate Arkansas laws regarding canvassing and to mislead and confuse voters,” said Dover Mayor Roger Lee, an officer with Arkansas Canvassing Compliance Committee, which filed paperwork Thursday with the state to campaign against the measure. “It’s disappointing, but not surprising, that Cherokee Nation Businesses has filed a lawsuit that seeks to silence the voices of 116,000 Arkansas voters who want something that could not be more reasonable: a statewide vote to give local voters the final say on whether a casino should be built in their community, or not,” Hans Stiritz, a spokesperson for the group, said in a statement.

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History of this topic

Lawsuit filed over measure approved by Arkansas voters that revoked planned casino’s license
1 month, 2 weeks ago

Lawsuit filed over measure approved by Arkansas voters that revoked planned casino’s license

Associated Press  

— Cherokee Nation Entertainment on Friday filed a lawsuit challenging a constitutional amendment Arkansas voters approved this week that revokes its license for a planned casino in the state. The lawsuit filed in federal court claims the measure approved by voters on Tuesday violates its constitutional rights, and seeks to block its enforcement before it takes effect Nov. 13. “Cherokee …

Court reinstates Arkansas ban of electronic signatures on voter registration forms
3 months, 1 week ago

Court reinstates Arkansas ban of electronic signatures on voter registration forms

Associated Press  

— A federal appeals court has reinstated an Arkansas rule prohibiting election officials from accepting voter registration forms signed with an electronic signature. The board in April said Arkansas’ constitution only allows certain state agencies, and not elections officials, to accept electronic signatures. The rule was adopted after nonprofit group Get Loud Arkansas helped register voters using electronic signatures. “The …

Lawsuit filed over Arkansas Republican officials blocking effort to close state GOP primary
3 months, 3 weeks ago

Lawsuit filed over Arkansas Republican officials blocking effort to close state GOP primary

Associated Press  

— Supporters of an effort to make Arkansas’ GOP primaries open only to registered Republicans have filed a lawsuit over state party officials blocking that proposal. The lawsuit filed in federal court on Monday stems from delegates at the state Republican Party convention voting to allow only registered GOP voters to participate in the party’s primary. The lawsuit filed by …

Arkansas Supreme Court rejects bid to put abortion on the ballot
4 months ago

Arkansas Supreme Court rejects bid to put abortion on the ballot

The Independent  

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. In a 4-3 ruling, the majority of the …

An Arkansas court blocks abortion vote
4 months ago

An Arkansas court blocks abortion vote

NPR  

An Arkansas court blocks abortion vote An Arkansas court blocked an effort to let voters decide on whether the state should legalize abortion - meaning the state's ban remains in place. Josie Lenora of Little Rock Public Radio has been talking to supporters of that abortion rights amendment effort today, and joins us now. Writing for the majority today, Arkansas …

Proposal to block casino plans OK’d for Arkansas ballot; medical marijuana backers given more time
4 months, 3 weeks ago

Proposal to block casino plans OK’d for Arkansas ballot; medical marijuana backers given more time

Associated Press  

— A proposal aimed at blocking a planned casino in Arkansas qualified for the November ballot on Wednesday after election officials said supporters turned in more than enough signatures to qualify. Secretary of State John Thurston’s office said it verified that Local Voters in Charge, the group behind the casino measure, submitted at least 116,200 valid signatures from registered voters …

Arkansas court orders state to count signatures collected by volunteers for abortion-rights measure
5 months ago

Arkansas court orders state to count signatures collected by volunteers for abortion-rights measure

Associated Press  

— The Arkansas Supreme Court on Tuesday night ordered the state to begin counting signatures submitted in favor of putting an abortion-rights measure on the ballot — but only ones collected by volunteers for the proposal’s campaign. The state has said that removing the signatures collected by paid canvassers would leave 87,382 from volunteers — nearly 3,000 short of the …

Arkansas is sued for rejecting petitions on an abortion-rights ballot measure
5 months, 1 week ago

Arkansas is sued for rejecting petitions on an abortion-rights ballot measure

Associated Press  

— Arkansas is being sued for rejecting petitions in favor of a proposed ballot measure to scale back the state’s abortion ban, with supporters asking the state Supreme Court on Tuesday to order officials to start counting more than 100,000 signatures from people who back amending the constitution. Giving voters a chance to weigh in on the state’s ban would …

Arkansas election officials reject petitions submitted for an abortion-rights ballot measure
5 months, 1 week ago

Arkansas election officials reject petitions submitted for an abortion-rights ballot measure

Associated Press  

— Arkansas election officials on Wednesday rejected petitions submitted for an abortion-rights ballot measure that organizers hoped to put before voters this fall in a predominantly Republican state. The secretary of state’s office rejected the petitions submitted on Friday by supporters of the proposal, saying the group didn’t submit statements required regarding paid signature gatherers. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who opposed …

Arkansas election officials reject petitions submitted for an abortion rights ballot measure
5 months, 2 weeks ago

Arkansas election officials reject petitions submitted for an abortion rights ballot measure

LA Times  

Supporters and opponents of a proposed ballot measure to scale back Arkansas’ abortion ban protest last week at the state Capitol in Little Rock. Arkansas election officials rejected petitions Wednesday that were submitted for an abortion rights ballot measure that organizers hoped to put before voters in the predominantly Republican state this fall. The Arkansas secretary of state’s office rejected …

Arkansas election officials checking signatures of 3 measures vying for November ballot
5 months, 2 weeks ago

Arkansas election officials checking signatures of 3 measures vying for November ballot

Associated Press  

— Supporters of proposals to expand Arkansas’ medical marijuana program and repeal a casino license turned in thousands of signatures on Friday to try and get their measures before voters in the November election. “Our canvassers found voters eager to place an amendment on the ballot that will eliminate barriers to access and make it less expensive to acquire and …

Arkansas Supreme Court upholds 2021 voting restrictions that state judge found unconstitutional
7 months, 1 week ago

Arkansas Supreme Court upholds 2021 voting restrictions that state judge found unconstitutional

Associated Press  

— The Arkansas Supreme Court on Thursday upheld four voting restrictions passed by Republican lawmakers in 2021 that were struck down by a state judge as unconstitutional. The court had earlier stayed the judge’s decision in the case, so the restrictions were still in effect before Thursday’s ruling “We hold that the Acts are not clearly incompatible with the sections …

Arkansas panel bans electronic signatures on voter registration forms
7 months, 4 weeks ago

Arkansas panel bans electronic signatures on voter registration forms

Associated Press  

— An Arkansas panel has prohibited election officials from accepting voter registration forms signed with an electronic signature, a move that critics say amounts to voter suppression. The order and an accompanying order say Arkansas’ constitution only allows certain state agencies, and not elections officials, to accept electronic signatures, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported. The move comes after a nonprofit group, …

Arkansas abortion ban may be scaled back, if group can collect enough signatures
11 months ago

Arkansas abortion ban may be scaled back, if group can collect enough signatures

Associated Press  

— Arkansas’ attorney general on Tuesday approved the wording of a proposed ballot measure that would scale back the state’s abortion ban, clearing the way for supporters to begin gathering enough signatures to qualify for the November election. The group must submit at least 90,704 valid signatures from registered voters — which is 6% of the votes cast in the …

Groups want full federal appeals court to revisit ruling limiting scope of the Voting Rights Act
1 year ago

Groups want full federal appeals court to revisit ruling limiting scope of the Voting Rights Act

Associated Press  

— Progressive advocacy groups in Arkansas on Monday asked a full federal appeals court to reconsider a three-judge panel’s ruling that private groups can’t sue under a key section of the federal Voting Rights Act. Circuit Court of Appeals after a panel ruled 2-1 last month that only the U.S. attorney general can enforce Section 2 of the Voting Rights …

Arkansas AG rejects language for proposed ballot measure protecting access to government records
1 year ago

Arkansas AG rejects language for proposed ballot measure protecting access to government records

Associated Press  

— Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin on Monday rejected the language for a proposed ballot measure that would make access to government records and meetings a right protected in the state’s constitution. Griffin rejected the language for the proposed Arkansas Government Transparency Amendment, which would also make it more difficult for lawmakers to narrow access to public meetings and records. …

New lawsuit filed challenging Arkansas’ US House map as unconstitutional
1 year, 7 months ago

New lawsuit filed challenging Arkansas’ US House map as unconstitutional

Associated Press  

— A group of voters and a coalition of religious leaders asked a federal court on Tuesday to strike down Arkansas’ 2021 U.S. House map as unconstitutional, saying it dilutes the influence of Black voters in the Little Rock area. The lawsuit by three Pulaski County voters and the Christian Ministerial Alliance is the third that’s been filed since 2021 …

Lawsuit filed over new Arkansas law on initiative signatures
1 year, 9 months ago

Lawsuit filed over new Arkansas law on initiative signatures

Associated Press  

— A lawsuit was filed Friday challenging a new Arkansas measure that makes it harder to get initiatives on the ballot by raising the number of counties where signatures must be gathered. Republican state Sen. Bryan King and the League of Women Voters of Arkansas filed the lawsuit challenging the new restriction approved by the majority-GOP Legislature and signed by …

Arkansas Senate OKs new requirement for ballot measures
1 year, 9 months ago

Arkansas Senate OKs new requirement for ballot measures

Associated Press  

— Proposed initiatives would face a new hurdle to qualifying for the Arkansas ballot under a measure lawmakers sent to the governor Monday that more than triples the number of counties where signatures must be gathered. Arkansas voters last year rejected a proposal the Legislature put on the ballot that would have required a 60% vote to approve ballot initiatives. …

Arizona Supreme Court keeps voting rights measure off ballot
2 years, 3 months ago

Arizona Supreme Court keeps voting rights measure off ballot

Associated Press  

PHOENIX — A voter initiative rolling back Republican-backed election law changes and expanding voting access will not appear on the November ballot, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled Friday, issuing a final death knell after an on-again off-again series of court rulings. The high court decision upholds a lower court ruling issued hours earlier, in which Maricopa County Superior Court Judge …

Arizona Supreme Court rejects challenges to 2 initiatives
2 years, 3 months ago

Arizona Supreme Court rejects challenges to 2 initiatives

Associated Press  

PHOENIX — The Arizona Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected challenges to two voter initiatives filed for November’s ballot, one already certified for the ballot and a second that appears likely to make it when a final signature verification is complete. Doug Ducey and the opponents of the measures disagreed and asked the Supreme Court to throw out any petitions gathered …

Arkansas panel rejects recreational marijuana ballot measure
2 years, 4 months ago

Arkansas panel rejects recreational marijuana ballot measure

Associated Press  

— The State Board of Election Commissioners on Wednesday blocked a proposal to legalize recreational marijuana from appearing on Arkansas’ ballot this fall. The panel rejected the measure after commissioners said they didn’t believe the ballot title fully explained to voters the impact of the amendment. For example, commissioners said they were concerned that the amendment would repeal the state’s …

Arkansas officials OK signatures for marijuana initiative
2 years, 4 months ago

Arkansas officials OK signatures for marijuana initiative

Associated Press  

— Supporters of a recreational marijuana initiative have turned in the required number of valid signatures, moving the measure closer to appearing on Arkansas’ ballot this fall, election officials said Friday. A spokesman for the secretary of state’s office said supporters of the proposed constitutional amendment had reached the 89,151 valid signatures from registered voters needed to qualify for the …

Arkansas judge finds 4 new voting laws unconstitutional
2 years, 9 months ago

Arkansas judge finds 4 new voting laws unconstitutional

Associated Press  

— An Arkansas judge on Friday struck down four new voting restrictions passed by Republican lawmakers, finding the measures unconstitutional. Pulaski County Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen issued a permanent injunction against the new voting laws at the end of a four-day trial in a challenge brought by the League of Women Voters of Arkansas, Arkansas United and five voters over …

Lawsuit challenges Arkansas congressional redistricting plan
2 years, 9 months ago

Lawsuit challenges Arkansas congressional redistricting plan

Associated Press  

— A federal lawsuit was filed Monday challenging Arkansas’ new U.S. House district lines, claiming the new boundaries violate Black voters’ rights and weaken their influence by splitting the Little Rock area among three congressional districts. The lawsuit filed by six residents, including two Black Democratic state lawmakers, said the redistricting plan approved by the majority-Republican Legislature last year violates …

Judge to toss Arkansas redistricting case unless DOJ joins
2 years, 10 months ago

Judge to toss Arkansas redistricting case unless DOJ joins

Associated Press  

— A federal judge said Thursday he’s dismissing a lawsuit challenging Arkansas’ new state House districts as diluting the influence of Black voters, unless the Justice Department joins the case as a plaintiff. U.S. District Judge Lee Rudofsky said there’s “a strong merits case that at least some of the challenged districts” in the lawsuit by two groups violate the …

Lawsuit challenges new Arkansas voting restrictions
3 years, 7 months ago

Lawsuit challenges new Arkansas voting restrictions

Associated Press  

— Two groups are asking an Arkansas judge to strike down several voting restrictions enacted this year that they say are unconstitutional and will disenfranchise the state’s voters. The League of Women Voters of Arkansas and Arkansas United filed a lawsuit Wednesday challenging the four election measures approved by the Republican Legislature and governor. An historic number of voting restrictions …

Arkansas lawmakers approve changes to state’s election laws
3 years, 8 months ago

Arkansas lawmakers approve changes to state’s election laws

Associated Press  

— Arkansas legislators on Tuesday approved changes to the state’s election laws, including restrictions outside polling places and on absentee ballots, that opponents said would disproportionately harm voters of color in the state. A bill approved by the House on a 74-23 vote prohibits someone being within 100 feet of the primary exterior entrance of a polling site while voting …

Arkansas passes 2 bills aimed to tighten election laws
3 years, 8 months ago

Arkansas passes 2 bills aimed to tighten election laws

Associated Press  

— Two separate bills have been approved by the Arkansas House and Senate that would tighten restrictions on absentee ballots and prevent people from lingering near polling places. The bill in the House by Republican Rep. Mark Lowery, of Maumelle, would ban the distribution of unsolicited absentee ballot applications to voters by designated election officials and would make the possession …

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