Arkansas Supreme Court rejects request to certify paper ballot initiative

Arkansas Supreme Court (Courtesy Photo)

The Arkansas Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit filed by supporters of proposed ballot initiatives that would change absentee voting procedures and require elections be conducted with paper ballots.

Arkansas Voter Integrity Initiative Inc., its CEO Conrad Reynolds and Restore Election Integrity Arkansas, a ballot question committee, filed the original jurisdiction complaint against Secretary of State John Thurston and the State Board of Election Commissioners in January.

Petitioners asked the Arkansas Supreme Court to independently certify the legal sufficiency of the measures’ ballot titles and popular names and order them placed on the November 2024 ballot.

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They also asked the state’s high court to declare unconstitutional two laws — one that requires the attorney general to approve proposed ballot measures and one that requires petitioners to gather signatures from 50 counties instead of 15, as specified in the Arkansas Constitution. The latter law is being challenged in court separately by the League of Women Voters of Arkansas.

Arkansans can amend the state constitution through an initiative, and repeal or adopt legislative measures through a referendum. The process first requires the approval of a ballot title and popular name by the attorney general. Supporters can then collect the requisite number of signatures that must then be certified by the Secretary of State before being placed on the ballot.

The defendants, represented by the attorney general’s office, filed a motion to dismiss the complaint for lack of original jurisdiction and for failure to state a claim. They argued the court’s original jurisdiction arises only after the secretary of state has determined whether the proposal qualifies for the ballot.

Additionally, the state contended that neither the State Board of Election Commissioners nor the secretary of state has authority to certify ballot initiatives before signatures have been gathered.

Writing for the majority , Associate Justice Rhonda Wood said the constitution gives the state Supreme Court original jurisdiction over sufficiency of ballot titles, so the question is not whether the court has original jurisdiction, but rather when it can be exercised.

“While we have ‘original’ jurisdiction, we exercise that jurisdiction only after the Secretary of State has made a sufficiency determination,” Wood wrote. “As a result, we cannot act under this jurisdiction until the Secretary of State has acted.”

With regard to ruling on the constitutionality of the two state laws, Wood said the lawsuit was a request for declaratory relief, which falls outside the court’s original jurisdiction.

“While we recognize it would be helpful to have a determination of the constitutionality of both these statutes on the front end, that process could have occurred by filing a declaratory-judgment action in the circuit court,” Wood wrote. “… circuit courts have original jurisdiction over declaratory-judgment actions, and we have appellate jurisdiction. Our jurisdiction derives from the Arkansas Constitution, and it grants this court limited original jurisdiction. We cannot expand it.”

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Chief Justice Dan Kemp and Associate Justices Karen Baker, Courtney Hudson and Shawn Womack concurred.

In a statement, Attorney General Tim Griffin called the decision “a tremendous victory” for Arkansans and the ability to vote on questions that aren’t “vague or misleading.”

After Griffin rejected Restore Election Integrity’s initial submissions, petitioners resubmitted their proposals. Griffin in January edited and certified the absentee ballot measure and rejected the paper ballot measure as misleading.

“I applaud the Court for dismissing this specious and ill-informed attempt to go around state law and place proposed constitutional amendments on the ballot with no review,” Griffin said. “This second consecutive win at the Supreme Court over the same group challenging our state’s election laws illustrates how Arkansas’ elected officials have passed laws that stand up to scrutiny.”

The Arkansas Supreme Court in April upheld a lower court’s dismissal of a lawsuit filed by Arkansas Voter Integrity Initiative Inc. and Reynolds that argued voting machines do not comply with state law.

Reynolds could not be reached for comment Thursday.

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