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Arkansas Initiative and Referendum Process Amendment (2026)
| Arkansas Initiative and Referendum Process Amendment | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 3, 2026 | |
| Topic Direct democracy measures | |
| Status Pending official review | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin Citizens |
The Arkansas Initiative and Referendum Process Amendment may appear on the ballot in Arkansas as an initiated constitutional amendment on November 3, 2026.
This measure would provide for the statewide initiative and referendum in the state constitution including requirements for submitting a proposal and providing for a 45-day period where a proposed measure may be challenged in the state supreme court. The amendment would prohibit the state legislature from altering or repealing voter-approved constitutional amendments. The amendment would provide that any constitutional provisions or statutes that are inconsistent or conflict with the proposal are void. The section of the constitution created by the measure would only be able to be amended by a citizen initiative.[1]
Path to the ballot
The state process
In Arkansas, the number of signatures required to qualify an initiated constitutional amendment for the ballot is equal to 10 percent of the votes cast for governor in the most recent gubernatorial election. Proponents must collect signatures equaling at least half of the designated percentage of gubernatorial votes in at least 50 of the state's counties. Signatures remain valid until the date of the next general election following the certification of ballot language. Signature petitions must be submitted four months prior to the election at which the measure is to appear.
The requirements to get initiated constitutional amendments certified for the 2026 ballot:
- Signatures: 90,704 valid signatures
- Deadline: The deadline to submit signatures is July 3, 2026.
If the secretary of state certifies that enough signatures were submitted in a petition, the initiative is put on the ballot. If a petition fails to meet the signature requirement, but the petition has at least 75 percent of the valid signatures needed, petitioners have 30 days to collect additional signatures or demonstrate that rejected signatures are valid.
Details about this initiative
- May 9, 2025: Save AR Democracy, a coalition of groups including the League of Women Voters of Arkansas, Conservatives Against Corruption, and Respect Voters Coalition, filed the initiative.[2]
- May 21, 2025: The attorney general approved the ballot title for the initiative.[1]
- June 13, 2025: Organizers began gathering signatures for the initiative petition.[3]
- July 24, 2025: The League of Women Voters of Arkansas and Protect AR Rights filed a lawsuit to challenge the constitutionality of new state laws governing the petition and referendum process.[4]
See also
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 KATV, "Constitutional amendment proposed to streamline Arkansas ballot initiative process," accessed March 17, 2025
- ↑ Arkansas Attorney General, "Opinion No. 2025-33," accessed May 28, 2025
- ↑ Arkansas Democrat Gazette, "Direct democracy petition drive gets underway as supporters explain goals at Fayetteville news conference," accessed June 16, 2025
- ↑ Arkansas Advocate, "Ballot coalitions request preliminary injunction in Arkansas direct democracy lawsuit," accessed July 28, 2025
