September 2021
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Recap: Where We're At with 2022 Ballot Issues
It's the fall before an election year and it seems quiet. Quiet for ballot issues that is.

We've published the Arkansas Ballot Issue News and Notes every month since 2014, and it's about this time in a non-election year where we begin to wonder whether there will be many ballot issues for voters to consider the next year.

Some reflections:

  • Summer festivals are coming to an end but fall festivals are kicking off. One ballot issue group announced they have collected 20,000 voter signatures toward their effort.

  • We're still waiting to see whether the change in who ballot titles must be submitted will affect impact the citizen initiative process. In Arkansas, groups now submit their titles to the Secretary of State's Office rather than receive certification from the Attorney General.

  • What impact has Covid had on the interest to collect signatures? We're dealing with year two of the pandemic in terms of festivals and events that attract large groups of people who may be eligible to sign a petition.

Compare and Contrast
As of Sept. 28, seven proposed ballot titles have been filed with the Secretary of State's Office.

Let's look back to where we were as of September in previous non-election years.

  • 2021: 7 proposed ballot issue titles filed for circulation

  • 2019: 5 proposed ballot issue titles filed for circulation*

  • 2017: 1 proposed ballot issue title approved for circulation

  • 2015: 9 proposed ballot issue titles approved for circulation

  • 2013: 4 proposed ballot issue titles approved for circulation

*process changes from receiving Attorney General approval for ballot titles to filing ballot titles with Secretary of State's Office

Voter signatures are due to the Secretary of State's Office in July 2022. But ballot issue groups must publish titles for proposed constitutional amendments and state laws in June 2022. We have several more months to find out how the signature process is going.

Proposals from the legislature and those filed by citizen groups so far can be found below.
2022 Arkansas Legislative Proposals
Arkansas representatives and senators voted in spring 2021 to put the three proposed constitutional amendments listed below on the November 2022 General Election ballot. The Secretary of State's Office has not assigned issue numbers yet for these measures.
A constitutional amendment to reform certain measures presented to voters, to be known as the "Constitutional Amendment and Ballot Initiative Reform Amendment”
A constitutional amendment to allow the General Assembly to convene in extraordinary session upon the issuance of a joint written proclamation of the speaker of the House of Representatives and the president pro tempore of the Senate or upon the submission of a written proclamation containing the signatures of at least 2/3 of the members of the House of Representatives and at least 2/3 of the members of the Senate to the speaker of the House of Representatives and the president pro tempore of the Senate requesting that the General Assembly convene in extraordinary session
A constitutional amendment to create the "Arkansas Religious Freedom Amendment"
2022 Citizen Initiative Proposals
Arkansas is one of 15 states where citizens have the right to put constitutional amendments, state laws and referendums on the ballot for voters to decide.

The citizen initiative process involves filing a ballot title with the Secretary of State's Office, collecting voter signatures across the state and submitting the petitions for verification. The Board of Election Commissioners also must approve the ballot title.

Referendums require voter signatures equaling 6% of the number of people who voted in the last governor's election. State laws require 8%, and constitutional amendments require 10%.
Submitted to the Secretary of State
Act 376 of 2019 requires ballot issue groups to submit a copy of their ballot title to the Secretary of State's Office before collecting voter signatures.

Ballot titles that have been filed for the 2022 ballot include:

July 13, 2021 - A Constitutional Amendment to Repeal the Authorization for Casino Gaming in Pope County - A proposal to remove Pope County as one of the locations in Arkansas where casino gaming is allowed under a previous constitutional amendment was submitted by Larry Walker of Fair Play for Arkansas - 2022.


May 25, 2021 - Arkansas Cannabis Industry Amendment - A proposal to make the cannabis industry legal in Arkansas was submitted by Clair Danner.

May 20, 2021 - The Arkansas Term Limits Amendment - A proposal to change term limits for state legislators was submitted by Arkansas Term Limits.

Feb. 4, 2021 - The Arkansas Township Amendment of 2022 - A proposal that would create another layer of local government - township assemblies - among other things was submitted by Academy of Democracy.

Jan. 5, 2021 - An Amendment Concerning Jurors' Rights - A proposal that would impact the legislature's ability to pass laws regarding jury awards in lawsuits over injury or death was submitted. The person who submitted the proposal did not provide their contact information to the Secretary of State's Office.

May 22, 2020 - The Arkansas Recreational Marijuana Amendment of 2022 - A proposal to legalize adult marijuana use and to allow certain marijuana convictions to be expunged was submitted by Arkansas True Grass.

Public Policy Center | uaex.uada.edu/ballot
The Public Policy Center was established in 2004 to provide Arkansans with timely, credible, unaligned and research-based information and education about public issues. Public issues are defined as pressing and emerging issues that involve multiple points of view and have widespread consequences.

Our goals are to:
  • Increase citizen knowledge, awareness and understanding of public issues;
  • Enhance public participation in decisions regarding public issues, and
  • Help citizens craft, evaluate and implement alternative solutions to public issues.

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