Arkansas 2016 ballot measures

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Four measures were certified to appear on the Arkansas ballot on November 8, 2016.

HIGHLIGHTS

A total of four ballot measures, three legislative referrals and one initiative, appeared on the November 8, 2016, ballot in Arkansas. Issues on the ballot included marijuana, bonds, state executives, and local government.

Issue 6 was approved and legalized medical marijuana.

The Arkansas Supreme Court struck Issue 4 and Issue 5 from the ballot 26 days before the election. Issue 4 would have capped medical malpractice awards, and Issue 5 would have authorized three casinos. The court struck down Issue 7, which would have legalized medical marijuana, 12 days before the election.

Issue 1, Issue 2, Issue 3, and Issue 6 were on the November 8 ballot. All four of the measures were approved.

The Arkansas Supreme Court struck two initiatives, Issue 4 and Issue 5, from the ballot on October 13, 2016. Issue 4 would have placed a cap on awards in medical malpractice lawsuits. Issue 5 would have authorized three new casinos in the state. The measures appeared on the ballot, but the court instructed the Arkansas Secretary of State to neither count nor certify results. The court struck down Issue 7, which was designed to legalize medical marijuana, on October 27, 2016.

At least 14 initiatives were filed for spots on the 2016 ballot in Arkansas. Some of these were repeat filings of the same or similar measures. Petitioners needed to file the requisite number of signatures by July 8, 2016.

Getting measures on the ballot

Citizens of Arkansas may initiate legislation as either a state statute or a constitutional amendment. In Arkansas, citizens also have the power to repeal legislation via veto referendum. The Arkansas State Legislature may also place measures on the ballot as legislatively referred constitutional amendments or legislatively referred state statutes.

Citizens were required to file at least 67,887 valid signatures for initiated state statutes, at least 50,916 valid signatures for veto referendums, and at least 84,859 valid signatures for initiated constitutional amendments.

During the 2015 state legislative session, the legislature placed three legislatively referred constitutional amendments on the 2016 ballot.

Historical facts

See also: History of Initiative & Referendum in Arkansas and List of Arkansas ballot measures

A total of 48 measures have appeared on statewide ballots since 1996. Two of the measures on the statewide ballot in 2012 were ultimately declared invalid by the court and therefore votes were not counted for them.

• Between 1996 and 2016, an average of four measures appeared on the ballot in Arkansas.
• The number of measures appearing on statewide ballots between 1996 and 2016 has ranged from one to six.
• Between 1996 and 2016, about 60 percent (29 of 48) of statewide ballots were approved by voters, about 35 percent (17 of 48) were defeated, and about four percent (2 of 48) were approved but then overturned by the court.

On the ballot

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
LRCA	Issue 1	Local Gov't	Rules governing certain county officials	a
LRCA	Issue 2	State Exec	Role of governor when absent from the state	a
LRCA	Issue 3	Bonds	Removes the cap on the amount of bonds the state is allowed to issue	a
CICA	Issue 6	Marijuana	Legalize medical marijuana	a

Cost per required signatures

The cost per required signatures (CPRS) is a comparison of the amount of money spent on the petition drive to the number of signatures the state requires for an initiative to make the ballot.

Arkansas initiatives removed from the ballot

See also: Issue 4 court lawsuit, Issue 5 lawsuit, and Issue 7 lawsuit

In 2016, three additional initiatives were certified for the ballot by state officials, but were later removed from the ballot by the Arkansas Supreme Court or disqualified by the Arkansas Supreme Court such that results for the measures weren't counted. Two measures, Issue 4 and Issue 7, were struck from the ballot based on deficiencies in the signature petitions and a failure to follow all of the state's laws about petition circulators. Issue 5 was ruled against because it violated federal law. Since these initiatives were initially certified for the ballot, the signature petition cost information was available and is shown below:

• Issue 4 - Petition cost: $807,762.00; CPRS: $9.52; Petition company: 3.0 LLC
• Issue 5 - Petition cost: $799,367.21; CPRS: $9.42; Petition companies: Stampede Consulting, LLC, and National Ballot Access
• Issue 7 - Petition cost: $49,013.65; CPRS: $0.72; Petition company: None (paid individuals and volunteers)

Not on the ballot

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
CICA	Issue 4	Tort	Cap on medical malpractice awards
CICA	Issue 5	Gambling	Casinos in Boone, Miller and Washington counties
CISS	Issue 7	Marijuana	Legalize medical marijuana
LRCA	County Official Term Limits Amendment	Term limits	Increases the term limits of certain county officials
LRCA	Lottery Proceeds for Scholarships Amendment	Lottery	Allows lottery proceeds to be used for scholarships and grants
LRCA	Court Procedures Amendment	Judiciary	Relates to court procedures for civil claims
LRCA	Voter Identification Amendment	Elections	Requires in person voters to present photo identification
LRCA	Definition of "Infamous Crime" Amendment	Con language	Defines the term "infamous crime" as used in the Arkansas Constitution
LRCA	Notice Publication Amendment	Legislature	Allows the legislature to determine the manner of publishing of notices required by the constitution
LRCA	Board of Higher Education Term Limits Amendment	Term limits	Provides that boards of higher education are not subject to standard board term limits
LRCA	Rules of Procedure in Civil Cases Amendment	Civil trials	Authorizes the legislature to enact laws concerning rules of procedure for civil cases
LRCA	Court Rules for Civil Claims Amendment	Civil trials	Concerns court rules and procedures applicable to civil claims
LRCA	Award of Damages in Civil Cases Amendment	Civil trials	Authorizes the legislature to regulate the award of damages in civil cases
LRCA	Legislative Sessions Amendment	Legislature	Reduces the number of days the legislature is in session
LRCA	Single Candidate Elections Amendment	Elections	Authorizes the legislature to enact laws governing elections with a single candidate
LRCA	Funding for Education Amendment	Education	Provides that state funds for public education not exceed a certain percentage of overall state expenditures
LRCA	Election of Judicial Officials Amendment	Judiciary	Allows the legislature to determine whether judicial officials are selected on a partisan or nonpartisan basis
LRCA	Tax Exemptions for Personal Property Amendment	Taxes	Exempts certain tangible personal property from ad valorem taxes
LRCA	Game and Fish Commission Amendment	Admin of gov't	Concerns the selection of members of the state game and fish commission
LRCA	Provisions for Lieutenant Governor Amendment	State exec	Provides for the election and duties of the lieutenant governor
LRCA	Legislative Term Limits Amendment	Term limits	Limits legislators to a maximum of 10 years in the legislature
VR	Local Government Anti-Discrimination Protections Referendum	LGBT	Repeals state law prohibiting local governments from enacting anti-discrimination protections for gays and lesbians
VR	"Intrastate Commerce Improvement Act" Referendum	Business regulation	Enables the people to vote for or against the Arkansas Intrastate Commerce Improvement Act
CICA	Alcoholic Beverage Amendment	Alcohol	Legalizes alcohol manufacture, sale, distribution, and transportation in every county
CICA	Reducing Constitutional Amendments Amendment	State legislatures measures	Allows the Arkansas General Assembly to propose only one, down from three, constitutional amendment for approval or rejection at the next general election
CICA	County Official Term Extension Amendment	Term limits	Changes the term of office for county officials from two years to four years
CICA	Limiting Non-Economic Damages in Civil Medical Care Cases Amendment	Healthcare	Places a limit on the monetary damages that a person can receive as a result of a civil suit against medical providers
CICA	Hemp and Marijuana Legalization Amendment	Marijuana	Legalizes the use and possession of marijuana for people ages 21 and older
CICA	Cannabis Amendment	Marijuana	Legalizes marijuana
CISS	Civil Rights Act Amendment	Constitutional rights	Amends the Arkansas Civil Rights Act of 1993 to include sexual orientation and gender identity to the groups protected from discrimination.
CISS	Wet-Dry Election Act	Elections and campaigns	Changes the number of signatures required to call a local option (wet-dry) election from 38 percent of the qualified electors to 20 percent of the qualified electors.
CISS	Campaign Finance Act	Elections and campaigns	Changes campaign finance expenditures and reporting
CISS	Campaign Finance Disclosure Initiative	Elections and campaigns	Changes process of disclosing campaign donors, supports amendment to U.S. Constitution

State profile

Demographic data for Arkansas
	Arkansas	U.S.
Total population:	2,977,853	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	52,035	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	78%	73.6%
Black/African American:	15.5%	12.6%
Asian:	1.4%	5.1%
Native American:	0.6%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0.2%	0.2%
Two or more:	2.1%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	6.9%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	84.8%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	21.1%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$41,371	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	22.9%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Arkansas. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in Arkansas

Arkansas voted Republican in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

Pivot Counties (2016)

Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, one is located in Arkansas, accounting for 0.5 percent of the total pivot counties.

Pivot Counties (2020)

In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Arkansas had one Retained Pivot County, 0.55 percent of all Retained Pivot Counties.

More Arkansas coverage on Ballotpedia

• Elections in Arkansas
• United States congressional delegations from Arkansas
• Public policy in Arkansas
• Endorsers in Arkansas
• Arkansas fact checks
• More...

See also

• 2016 ballot measures
• List of Arkansas ballot measures
• Arkansas Legislature
• List of ballot measures by state
• Laws governing the initiative process in Arkansas

External links

• Arkansas 2016 Ballot Issues
• University of Arkansas 2016 Guide to Arkansas Ballot Measures

Additional reading

• Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette, "Ballot proposals get green light, switch chambers," April 2, 2015
• The City Wire, "No amendments for the 2016 ballot?" March 22, 2015
• Arkansas Online, "No amendment proposals planned, legislative leaders say," March 19, 2015

Footnotes

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