Arkansas Redistricting Commission Initiative (2020)
| Arkansas Redistricting Commission Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 3, 2020 | |
| Topic Redistricting measures | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin Citizens |
The Arkansas Redistricting Commission Initiative was not on the ballot in Arkansas as an initiated constitutional amendment on November 3, 2020.
Measure design
This measure would have created a redistricting commission in Arkansas.[1][2]
Text of measure
Popular name
The popular name for this initiative would have been as follows:[1]
| “ | An Amendment to Create a Citizens Redistricting Commission for Decennial Redistricting of Arkansas Congressional and State Legislative Districts[3] | ” |
Ballot title
The ballot title for this initiative would have been as follows:[1]
An amendment to establish a citizens commission for the purposes of decennial redistricting of congressional and state legislative districts (the "Commission") to consist of seven (7) members, one appointed by the Speaker of the Arkansas House of Representatives, one by the President Pro Tempore of the Arkansas Senate, one by the Speaker Pro Tempore of the Arkansas House of Representatives, one by the Majority Leader of the Arkansas Senate, on by the Majority Leader of the Arkansas House of Representatives, one by the Minority Leader of the Arkansas Senate, and one by the Minority Leader of the Arkansas House of Representatives; repealing Article 8 of the Arkansas Constitution establishing a Board of Apportionment comprised of the Governor, the Secretary of State, and the Attorney General; repealing Arkansas Code Annotated Section 7-2-101 through Arkansas Code Annotated Section 7-2-105; removing from the General Assembly the authority to establish decennial districts for each of its members of the United States Congress and placing that authority with the citizens commission formed hereunder; requiring the Commission to reapportion the house of representatives [sic] and the senate [sic] immediately following the official reporting of each decennial census of the United States, with reapportionment based on the population within each house [sic] and senate [sic] district as reported by the official decennial census of the United States; requiring the Commission to establish 100 house [sic] districts, with each house [sic] district to elect one member of the house of representatives [sic]; requiring the Redistricting Commission to establish 3 5 senate [sic] districts, with each senate [sic] district to elect one member of the senate [sic]; requiring that appointments to the Commission be made between January 1 and February 1 of each calendar year ending in one; and requiring that the Speaker of the Arkansas House of Representatives selects the chairman of the Commission. |
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
- Nate Steel filed this initiative. Attorney General Leslie Rutledge certified the measure's ballot title, clearing it for signature gathering, on February 27, 2019.
- Sponsors did not submit a ballot title to the Secretary of State's office, which was required under Act 376 of 2019.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Arkansas Attorney General's Office, "Opinion No. 2019-014," accessed August 24, 2018
- ↑ Arkansas Attorney General's Office, "Opinions Search," accessed February 28, 2019
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
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State of Arkansas Little Rock (capital) |
|---|---|
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