Arkansas Recreational Marijuana Initiative (2020)
| Arkansas Recreational Marijuana Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 3, 2020 | |
| Topic Marijuana | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin Citizens |
The Arkansas Recreational Marijuana Initiative was not on the ballot in Arkansas as an initiated constitutional amendment on November 3, 2020.
Measure design
This measure would have legalized marijuana use for individuals 21 years of age and older regardless of residency.[1]
Text of measure
Popular name
The popular name for this initiative would have been as follows:[1]
| “ | Arkansas Recreational Marijuana Amendment of 2020[2] | ” |
Full text
The full text of the measure is available here.
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 2020 ballot:
- Signatures: 89,151 valid signatures were required.
- Deadline: The deadline to submit signatures was July 3, 2020.
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
- Arkansas True Grass sponsored this initiative.[3][4]
- On May 25, 2020, U.S. District Judge P.K. Holmes issued a preliminary injunction waiving the requirement that petition circulators physically witness signatures, thereby allowing sponsors of the Arkansas Independent Redistricting Commission Initiative to collect remote petition signatures. The judge declined to allow electronic signatures and declined to push back the signature deadline. Arkansas True Grass said on May 26 that it was ending its 2020 petition drive due to coronavirus concerns and would instead focus on qualifying the measure for the 2022 ballot. On June 1, 2020, Arkansas True Grass said it would continue collecting signatures to attempt to qualify for the 2020 ballot but that they would attempt to qualify for the 2022 ballot if signatures fall short for 2020.[5][6]
- Sponsors did not publish the initiative in a newspaper of general statewide circulation before the June 3, 2020, deadline. Therefore, the initiative did not qualify for the 2020 ballot.[7][8]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Arkansas Secretary of State, "Arkansas Recreational Marijuana Amendment of 2020," accessed July 23, 2019
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "Initiatives and referenda," accessed July 23, 2019
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "Arkansas True Grass: The Arkansas Recreational Marijuana Amendment of 2020," accessed May 27, 2020
- ↑ Arkansas Online, "Group ends its ballot push; backers of 2nd recreational-pot proposal keep up efforts," accessed May 27, 2020
- ↑ Cannabis Dispensary Mag, "Campaign to Legalize Adult-Use Cannabis in Arkansas Renews Efforts to Place Initiative on 2020 Ballot," accessed June 2, 2020
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "Arkansas Initiative and Referendum Handbook," accessed June 10, 2020
- ↑ University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service, "State Ballot Issues in Arkansas," accessed June 10, 2020
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