AAC
The 2020 General Election in Arkansas: what to expect and trying to navigate the unexpected
on the ballot are clamoring to make sure voters who might otherwise be uninformed on their race have at least heard of their name. Besides candidates for President, others such as Congressional offices, state General Assembly seats, justice of the peace districts, city offices, and school board positions will be decided on Nov. 3. Additionally, three issues referred to voters by the Arkan-
A
sas General Assembly will appear on the bal- lot: Issue 1, to perma- nently continue the collection of an existing half-penny sales tax for highways, roads, and bridges, which will oth- erwise sunset in 2023; Issue 2, to set term limits for members of the Arkansas General Assembly to 12 years, with certain cooling off provisions; and Issue 3, which amends the pro- cesses by which legislative referrals and signature-petition led initiatives are qualified to be placed on the ballot. Issues 2 and 3 are currently being challenged in the same lawsuit in the Pulaski County Circuit Court, seeking an injunction to keep them from appearing on the ballot, claiming the ballot titles are insufficient and misleading. Two other signature-driven initiatives were recently struck
G
down by the Arkansas Supreme Court and will not appear on the ballot. Te Court found that both the initiative to es- tablish open primaries as well as the one to create an inde- pendent redistricting committee lacked sufficient signatures to appear on the November ballot. A third initiative to expand Arkansas’s casinos from four to sixteen also failed to make it onto the ballot after its sponsor dropped its lawsuit against the Secretary of State over insufficient signatures. Finally, a rare veto referendum, known as Issue 6, sought to overturn a 2019 law passed by the General Assembly to allow optometrists to
COUNTY LINES, SUMMER 2020
glimpse of any commercial break or news broad- cast on network television leaves no doubt — presidential election season has arrived. Presi- dential elections bring out more voters, so others
ov. Asa Hutchinson issued an executive order making it crystal clear that concerns about the
COVID-19 virus are a proper excuse for being “unavoid- ably absent” from the polls to qualify under Arkansas law for an absentee ballot.
perform certain eye surgeries. Te Supreme Court has also struck this referendum from the ballot due to lack of sufficient signatures. Tere- fore, it appears at the time of this article that Issues 1, 2, and 3 will be the only ballot issues counted in the general election. Additionally, there has been an exceptional amount of na- tional media coverage over the safety and security of our elec- tions, particularly when it comes to mail-in voting. Procedures for mail-in voting vary from state to state, and it is important to know the law and security precautions taken in your state. In Arkansas, an unprecedented num- ber of residents are ex- pected to vote by mail. Te process in Arkansas is called “absentee vot- ing,” and has been in practice for decades. Under this system, a registered voter must send their local county
LINDSEY FRENCH General Counsel
LEGAL CORNER
clerk an application for a ballot. Te county clerk then verifies that the resident applying for a ballot is a properly registered voter, and then provides them a ballot. Tis can be done either by mail, or by designated bearer (or authorized agent if the voter is in an assisted living facility). Gov. Asa Hutchinson issued an executive order making it
crystal clear that concerns about the COVID-19 virus are a proper excuse for being “unavoidably absent” from the polls to qualify under Arkansas law for an absentee ballot. However, I am unaware of any time in Arkansas history where a court has invalidated a voter’s ballot because their excuse for being absent from the polls was legally insufficient. Additionally, the state has received CARES Act funds, a portion to be used for the sole purpose of providing safe and secure elections. Te
See “Voting” on Page 16 >>> 15
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48
