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Arkansas Campaign Finance Disclosure Initiative (2016)
| Arkansas Campaign Finance Disclosure Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | initiated state statute |
| Origin | Citizens |
| Topic | Campaign finance |
| Status | Not on the ballot |
| Not on Ballot |
|---|
 |
| This measure was not put on an election ballot |
The Arkansas Campaign Finance Disclosure Initiative did not make the 2016 election ballot in Arkansas as an initiated state statute.
If approved by voters, the measure would have changed requirements for disclosing donors to political campaigns. Specifically, it would have required any person making a payment of $2,000 or more or any person or independent expenditure committee making an independent expenditure of more than $500 to disclose this information to the Arkansas Secretary of State or the county clerk. The measure would have also instructed the Arkansas Congressional Delegation to support an amendment to the United States Constitution that would have reversed the Citizens United Supreme Court ruling.[1][2]
Text of measure
Popular name
The proposed popular name for this measure was as follows:[3]
| “ | THE CAMPAIGN FINANCE ACT OF 2016[4] | ” |
Ballot title
The proposed ballot title was as follows:[3]
| “ | AN ACT AMENDING ARKANSAS LAW TO REQUIRE THAT ANY PERSON SPENDING AN AGGREGATE OF TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS OR MORE IN ANY CALENDAR YEAR FOR ELECTIONEERING COMMUNICATIONS, OR AN AGGREGATE OF FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS OR MORE FOR INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES, MUST DISCLOSE THEIR CAMPAIGN SPENDING AND DONORS THROUGH AN ELECTRONIC SYSTEM TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE OR COUNTY CLERK; REQUIRES PERSONS MAKING INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES ANY TIME DURING AN ELECTION TO REPORT EXPENDITURES AND DONORS ON REGULAR COMMITTEE REPORTS, AND ELECTIONEERING COMMUNICATIONS MADE WITHIN 60 DAYS OF AN ELECTION ARE TO BE REPORTED WITHIN 48 HOURS; REQUIRES THAT THE ARKANSAS ETHICS COMMISSION MAKE THESE REPORTS PUBLICLY AVAILABLE ON-LINE; REQUIRES DISCLAIMERS IN BROADCAST AND PRINT ADS OF TOP SPONSORS OF INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURE ADVERTISEMENTS, ELECTIONEERING COMMUNICATIONS, OR ADVERTISEMENTS FOR OR AGAINST BALLOT QUESTIONS OR LEGISLATIVE QUESTIONS; AND CALLS UPON THE CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION OF ARKANSAS TO SUPPORT, AND THE ARKANSAS GENERAL ASSEMBLY TO RATIFY, AN AMENDMENT TO THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION CLARIFYING THE POWER OF CONGRESS AND THE STATES TO REGULATE AND SET REASONABLE LIMITS ON THE RAISING AND SPENDING OF MONEY BY CANDIDATES AND OTHERS TO INFLUENCE ELECTIONS, AND IN SO DOING, TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN NATURAL PERSONS AND CORPORATIONS OR OTHER ARTIFICIAL ENTITIES CREATED BY LAW, INCLUDING BY PROHIBITING SUCH ENTITIES FROM SPENDING MONEY TO INFLUENCE ELECTIONS.[4] | ” |
Support
The measure was being sponsored by the group Regnat Populus. Supporters refer to the measure as The Campaign Finance Act of 2016.[5] In an announcement, Regnat Populus stated its goal was "to draw together as many grass roots, state-wide, and national groups as possible to work towards regaining control over campaign finance spending, eliminating the mistaken idea of corporate personhood and undoing the damage to our electoral system this mistaken idea has wrought."[5]
Path to the ballot
For an initiated state statute, signatures equal to at least 8 percent of the total number of votes cast for the office of governor in the last gubernatorial election were required. Furthermore, Arkansas law required that a petition must contain, from each of 15 counties, qualified signatures equal to at least half of the designated signatures for that county in order to achieve a "county minimum."
Signatures were not submitted by the July 8, 2016, deadline.
See also
- Arkansas 2016 ballot measures
- 2016 ballot measures
- Arkansas Initiative Law
- Arkansas signature requirements
Footnotes
- ↑ Ballot Question as submitted to Arkansas Attorney General, "The Campaign Finance Act of 2016," accessed December 2, 2014
- ↑ UALR, "2016 Campaign Finance Ballot Proposal Submitted To Arkansas Attorney General," December 1, 2014
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Arkansas Attorney General, "Opinion No. 2015-001," January 21, 2015
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Talk Business & Politics, "Regnat Populus Heads Campaign Finance Reform Coalition," November 12, 2014
 |
State of Arkansas Little Rock (capital) |
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