constitutional
It’s a good idea to embed public’s right to know in Arkansas Constitution
An effort to ask voters to enshrine the state’s sunshine law in the Arkansas Constitution should come together quickly, says Nate Bell, the former lawmaker leading the charge. Bell, an independent from Mena, told the Advocate he hopes to announce the core members of a ballot question committee this week. He hopes to release a […]
U.S. Supreme Court lifts stays on Mountain Valley Pipeline
Work on the Mountain Valley Pipeline project is allowed to continue after U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts on Thursday lifted two stays, or pauses, imposed by a lower court in response to challenges from environmental groups. The lifting of the stays was issued while the Richmond-based U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals was […]
Federal agencies lag in registering voters despite Biden executive order, advocates say
Within weeks of taking office in 2021, President Joe Biden issued an executive order — hailed by voter advocates as potentially transformative — that for the first time committed the U.S. government to registering new voters at federal agencies. But just over two years later, most of the 10 agencies examined in a recent report […]
Noncitizens allowed to vote in some local elections, spurring backlash from GOP
A few cities and towns around the U.S. are letting noncitizens vote in local elections, and more could follow. In response, Republicans see a chance to turn opposition to noncitizen voting into a national rallying cry. On March 14, Washington, D.C., became the latest city to approve noncitizen voting, when a bill allowing the District’s […]
Arkansas Senate narrowly passes bill to end state affirmative action programs
State Sen. Dan Sullivan’s bill to “end state-sponsored discrimination” squeaked through the Senate on Thursday by a single vote. Senate Bill 71 now goes to the House for consideration. The bill, which passed the Senate 18-12, prohibits state and local government agencies, including schools and universities, from taking into consideration race, sex, color, ethnicity or […]
Future of U.S. election law at stake as Supreme Court hears North Carolina case
WASHINGTON — North Carolina Republicans appeared to have at least three of the U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative justices on their side Wednesday in a case that could determine the future of elections nationwide and leave decisions about federal elections in the hands of state legislatures and beyond the reach of state courts. The Supreme Court […]
U.S. Supreme Court to consider case that could radically reshape the country’s elections
The U.S. Supreme Court could soon grant state legislatures unconditional control over federal elections, clearing the way for lawmakers to gerrymander their states with impunity and pass voter restriction measures without interference from state courts. The high-stakes election case, Moore v. Harper, comes out of North Carolina after its Republican-controlled legislature passed in November 2021 […]