ballot measures
Arkansas AG rejects proposed ballot measure to make abortion access a constitutional right
A proposed constitutional amendment ensuring a limited right to abortion in Arkansas will not appear on the 2024 statewide ballot, Attorney General Tim Griffin wrote in a Tuesday opinion. His seven-page letter to Steven Nichols, the Arkansan who submitted the proposal, pointed out several aspects of the ballot language that Griffin said need clarity or […]
Proposed Arkansas ballot measure would make abortion access a constitutional right
The Arkansas Attorney General’s Office will decide Tuesday whether a proposed measure to enshrine abortion as a constitutional right will go on the 2024 statewide ballot. State government entities would not be allowed to “prohibit, penalize, delay or restrict” Arkansans’ access to abortion up to 18 weeks of pregnancy under the Arkansas Reproductive Healthcare Amendment, […]
Arkansas transparency group unveils new drafts for FOIA constitutional amendment, initiated act
The government transparency group hoping to enshrine the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act in the state Constitution released a second draft of a proposed amendment with an accompanying citizen-initiated act Monday. Arkansas Citizens for Transparency (ACT) unveiled its first draft of the proposed amendment last month, with the goal of qualifying for the 2024 statewide […]
Transparency advocates hear public input on proposal to enshrine FOIA in Arkansas Constitution
Members of a government transparency group answered questions from a small crowd in Little Rock on Thursday about their effort to bolster the state’s public records and open meetings law that they hope will appear on the 2024 Arkansas ballot. Last month, Arkansas Citizens for Transparency (ACT) unveiled a proposed constitutional amendment that would enshrine […]
Positive polling, past successes don’t guarantee victory for abortion rights at the ballot box
Polls show that most Americans, even in red states, oppose the strict abortion bans Republican state lawmakers have enacted in the year since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade. Emboldened by that fact, abortion rights advocates in multiple states might propose ballot initiatives for voters to consider in next year’s election, if […]
Heightened requirements to put measures on the Arkansas ballot awaits Sanders’ signature
A proposed Arkansas law that would make it harder for citizen-led petitions to qualify for the statewide ballot passed the Senate and went to Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ desk Monday. House Bill 1419 would require canvassers to gather signatures from at least 50 counties — up from the 15-county threshold laid out in Article 5 […]
Biden to pardon all federal offenses for simple marijuana possession, review criminalization
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Thursday announced executive actions that would pardon thousands of people with prior federal offenses of simple marijuana possession. Biden then called on governors to follow suit with state offenses for simple marijuana possession, saying that “just as no one should be in a Federal prison solely due to the possession of […]