Arkansas Proposed Constitutional Amendment No. 1 (2008)
From Ballotpedia
Contents |
Proposed Constitutional Amendment No. 1 gives the legislature the power to determine who can be a voting official. The measure also removes outdated language from the constitution.
Amendment 1 was a legislatively-referred constitutional amendment that appeared on the November 4, 2008 ballot in Arkansas.
2008 election results
| Arkansas Amendment 1 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes or no | Votes | Percentage | ||
 Yes
| 708,694 | 73% | ||
| No | 264,865 | 27% | ||
| Total votes | 973,559 | 100% precincts | ||
Results according to the Arkansas Secretary of State.[1]
Background
Amendement 51, adopted by Arkansas voters in 1964, supersedes many of the provisions Proposed Amendment 1 deals with. It already allows a court to cancel the registration of mentally ill or mentally disabled voters if a judge determines the voters are incompetent. Amendment 51 also repealed the poll tax in Arkansas.
Specific Provisions
The measure:
- Removes language in Article 3, Section 5, which says: "No idiot or insane person shall be entitled to the privileges of an elector."[2]
- Gives the Legislature the power to determine who can be a voting official. Currently, Arkansas was the only state that didn't give its Legislature the power to determine the qualifications of a poll worker. The state constitution banned state workers from serving as poll workers.[2]
- Replaces the poll-tax language in Article 3, Section 1 of the constitution, which currently requires a voter to "exhibit a poll tax receipt or other evidence that they have paid their poll tax," with text allowing voting by anyone who is a citizen of the United States, a resident of Arkansas, at least 18 years of age, and lawfully registered to vote.[2]
Supporters
Secretary of State Charlie Daniels, the primary supporter, said he didn't expect any controversy.
- Secretary of State Charlie Daniels
- Sen. Steve Faris, D-Central
Arguments in Favor
Notable arguments made in favor of the measure included:
- The measure would update the language of the constitution, and remove archaic language regarding "idiots" and "poll-tax"
See also
External links
References
- ↑ Arkansas Elections Division, 2008 Election results
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette: "Phrasing of laws heading to voters," Aug. 25, 2008
