TrustVoting Atlas

(a) The Secretary of State shall ascertain and declare the sufficiency or insufficiency of the
signatures submitted on each statewide initiative petition and each statewide referendum
petition within thirty (30) days after it is filed.
(b) The Secretary of State may contract with the various county clerks for their assistance in
verifying the signatures on petitions. The county clerk shall return the petitions to the Secretary
of State within ten (10) days.
(c) If the statewide initiative petition or statewide referendum petition is found to be sufficient,
the Secretary of State shall certify and record the finding and perform such other duties relating
thereto as are required by law.
(d)(1) If the signatures submitted on a statewide initiative petition or statewide referendum
petition are found to be insufficient, the Secretary of State shall forthwith notify the sponsors in
writing, through their designated agent, and shall set forth his or her reasons for so finding.
Previous
Next Page
7-9-111
ELECTIONS
When the notice is delivered, the sponsors shall have thirty (30) days in which to do any or all of
the following:
(A) Solicit and obtain additional signatures; or
(B) Submit proof to show that the rejected signatures or some of them are good and should
be counted.
(2) Any amendments and corrections shall not materially change the purpose and effect of the
statewide initiative petition or statewide referendum petition. No change shall be made in the
measure.
(3) The Secretary of State shall ascertain and declare the sufficiency or insufficiency of
additional signatures submitted by the sponsors under this subsection within thirty (30) days of
the filing of the supplemental petitions.
(e)(1) To assist the Secretary of State in ascertaining the sufficiency or insufficiency of each
statewide initiative petition and each statewide referendum petition, all county clerks shall
furnish at cost to the Secretary of State a single alphabetical list of all registered voters in their
respective counties. The list shall be provided at least four (4) months before the election, and an
updated list shall be provided at cost by September 1 in the year of the election. The list shall
include the date of birth of each registered voter.
(2) The State Board of Election Commissioners, upon the request of the county clerk, may
grant a waiver from this subsection if the board determines that the county clerk is unable to
provide the list within the time required.
(f)(1) A person filing statewide initiative petitions or statewide referendum petitions with the
Secretary of State shall bundle the petitions by county and shall file an affidavit stating the
number of petitions and the total number of signatures being filed.
(2) If signatures were obtained by paid canvassers, the person filing the petitions under this
subsection shall also submit the following:
(A) A statement identifying the paid canvassers by name; and
(B) A statement signed by the sponsor indicating that the sponsor:
(i) Provided a copy of the most recent edition of the Secretary of State’s initiatives and
referenda handbook to each paid canvasser before the paid canvasser solicited signatures; and
(ii) Explained the requirements under Arkansas law for obtaining signatures on an
initiative or referendum petition to each paid canvasser before the paid canvasser solicited
signatures.
(g) All county initiative and referendum elections shall be held in accordance with the
provisions of § 14-14-917.
(h) Municipal referendum petition measures shall be submitted to the electors at a regular
general election unless the petition expressly calls for a special election. If the date set by the
petition does not allow sufficient time to comply with election procedures, then the city or town
council shall fix the date for any special election on the referendum measure. The date of any
special election shall be set in accordance with § 7-11-201 et seq. but in no event more than one
hundred twenty (120) calendar days after the date of certification of sufficiency by the municipal
clerk.
(i) [Repealed.]
(j)(1) Except as provided under subdivision (j)(4) of this section, a canvasser shall file a true
affidavit with the Secretary of State for a statewide initiative petition or statewide referendum
petition and the county clerk for a local initiative petition or local referendum petition certifying
that the canvasser has complied with the Arkansas Constitution and all Arkansas law regarding
canvassing, perjury, forgery, and fraudulent practices in the procurement of petition signatures
during the current election cycle.
(2) The Secretary of State or the county clerk shall not count the signatures submitted by the
canvasser until a true affidavit is submitted under subdivision (j)(1) of this section.
(3) A true affidavit submitted under subdivision (j)(1) of this section shall have no bearing to
establish the genuineness or falsity of the signatures obtained by the canvasser.
(4)(A) The inability of a canvasser to submit an affidavit due to death or medical disability
shall not disqualify the signatures gathered by the canvasser.
Previous
Next Page
INITIATIVES, REFERENDA, ETC.
7-9-113
(B) Subdivision (j)(4)(A) of this section does not excuse a canvasser from filing the affidavit
required under § 7-9-109.
(k) A canvasser who has filed a true affidavit under subsection (j) of this section shall not
collect additional signatures unless the Secretary of State determines that the sponsor of the
statewide initiative petition or statewide referendum petition or the county clerk determines that
the sponsor of the local initiative petition or local referendum petition is eligible for an
amendment to the statewide initiative petition, statewide referendum petition, local initiative
petition, or local referendum petition under Arkansas Constitution, Article 5, § 1.