Federal judge rules Arkansas petition laws violate First Amendment, easing signature collection

A federal judge has struck down several Arkansas laws that governed how petition circulators collect signatures for ballot initiatives, ruling the requirements violated the First Amendment, the reporter said.

The ruling comes the same day ballot-question committees were required to submit signatures for proposed constitutional amendments ahead of the November midterm elections, raising stakes for groups that rely on in-person signature gathering.

Sam Watson, with Protect AR Rights, called the decision "a win," saying it "reinforces the constitutional principle that the initiative process belongs to the people of Arkansas and not to the state legislature." Watson and other advocates had challenged several new requirements that they said made collecting signatures unduly burdensome.

Watson described the previous procedures that petition circulators faced: "I have to check your ID, your driver's license, so you have to pull out your driver's license to confirm that you live in Arkansas. I then have to read the ballot title to you out loud. Those ballot titles can be hundreds of words long ... and so that can take as much as 5 to 10 minutes depending on the complexity of the ballot initiative," he said, arguing that the cumulative effect slowed drives and reduced participation.

Supporters of the ruling say it removes procedural obstacles that limited access to the citizen initiative process, which Arkansas allows as a way for voters to place laws or constitutional amendments on the ballot. The reporter noted proponents hope the decision will broaden participation and lead to more public policy debates carried out at the ballot box.

The case is not over. A federal judge is scheduled to hear additional First Amendment claims on July 28 at the federal courthouse in Fayetteville.