Trend – Election 2024

Citizen-initiated government transparency act proposal submitted to Arkansas Attorney General

BY: - December 4, 2023

Arkansas government transparency advocates proposed a ballot measure on Monday that would define a public meeting and create a special body to help citizens denied access to public records.   Arkansas Citizens for Transparency submitted a proposed ballot title and popular name for the “Arkansas Government Transparency Act,” a companion to a proposed constitutional amendment submitted […]

voters cast their ballot in a gymnasium

Arkansas AG rejects proposed measure to conduct elections via hand-marked paper ballots

BY: - November 29, 2023

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin on Wednesday rejected two proposed constitutional amendments to remove voting machines from Arkansas’ election process.  One proposal would require hand-marked, hand-counted paper ballots, while the other would create absentee ballot procedures.  Griffin cited several reasons for rejecting the proposed popular name and ballot title of both initiatives, including a lengthy […]

Abortion Law book on copy of Preamble. Gavel and stethoscope.

Arkansas AG rejects proposed ballot measure to make abortion access a constitutional right

BY: - November 28, 2023

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 […]

Abortion Law book on copy of Preamble. Gavel and stethoscope.

Proposed Arkansas ballot measure would make abortion access a constitutional right

BY: - November 27, 2023

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, […]

U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA)

How U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson helped derail a fight against election lies

BY: - November 21, 2023

CORRECTION: This report has been corrected to more accurately reflect the nature of Nina Jankowicz’s public comments  about the Hunter Biden laptop. Back in July, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas testified before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee. A federal court had recently granted a temporary injunction, in Missouri v. Biden, finding that the Biden administration had violated the […]

Arkansas candidates for state and federal offices begin filing for 2024 election

BY: - November 6, 2023

Arkansas’ first candidates for next year’s elections formally entered their races Monday, kicking off the weeklong candidate filing period and the 2024 election cycle. President Joe Biden’s and Donald Trump’s campaigns registered for the ballot here along with representatives for other Republican presidential candidates: Vivek Ramaswamy, Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley. Two of Arkansas’ sitting […]

Arkansas 2024 candidate filing period opens Monday for state, federal offices

BY: - November 6, 2023

The 2024 election cycle officially begins in Arkansas on Monday with the week-long candidate filing period. Secretary of State John Thurston plans to open the state Capitol rotunda to candidates at noon Monday.  Pomp and circumstance usually rules the first half hour, and some candidates race to be the first filers of the year. In […]

U.S. Capitol on a winter night, as smoke rises from fireplaces. (Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)

Democratic social worker to run against Republican incumbent for Northwest Arkansas congressional seat

BY: - October 24, 2023

A Fayetteville clinical social worker announced Tuesday that she’ll challenge U.S. Rep. Steve Womack in 2024 for Arkansas’ 3rd Congressional District seat, which covers Northwest Arkansas and the Fort Smith metro area. Caitlin Draper is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) with a clinical focus on Autism Spectrum Disorder and eating disorders. In addition to […]

Retired Army colonel to run as Democrat for Central Arkansas congressional seat

BY: - October 18, 2023

A retired Army colonel this week became the first Democrat to announce plans to run against U.S. Rep. French Hill for Arkansas’ 2nd Congressional District seat. Marcus Jones, 51, of Little Rock filed with the Federal Election Commission Monday, less than two months after his retirement from the U.S. Army. “French Hill isn’t a bad […]

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson

Former Arkansas governor promises to continue campaign after missing GOP debate

BY: - September 26, 2023

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said he will continue his bid for president, despite failing to qualify for the second Republican presidential debate on Wednesday.  In a statement issued Monday evening, Hutchinson said he will keep campaigning with events across the country in the coming weeks. This includes a press conference in Detroit on Wednesday […]

Ralph Reed, founder and chair of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, interviewed 2024 presidential candidates at the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition’s fall banquet in Des Moines Sept. 16, 2023. (Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

GOP presidential candidates focus on abortion, Israel, parental rights at evangelical event

BY: - September 17, 2023

Republican presidential candidates emphasized their support for abortion restrictions, parental rights and Israel while working Saturday night to win over evangelical Iowa caucusgoers. More than 1,000 people gathered in Des Moines for the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition annual fall banquet. The conservative Christian organization has played an influential role in the Republican presidential race […]

Arkansas’ Womack to seek 8th term in Congress

BY: - September 13, 2023

U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, an influential Republican who has been a vocal critic of some of his party’s far-right members, will seek an eighth term representing Arkansas’ 3rd Congressional District.  Womack, a retired Army colonel, had reportedly been weighing retirement at the end of 2024, but he said earlier this year that he’d make a […]