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The League of Women Voters of Arkansas is collecting signatures for its proposed ballot measure slowly and deliberately as the group navigates lawsuits and new requirements for gathering petitions.
The nonpartisan, grassroots organization and its ballot question committee, Save AR Democracy, is collecting signatures for a constitutional amendment aimed at protecting Arkansans’ right to direct democracy and preventing legislative interference in this process, which allows people to propose laws and put them to a statewide vote. Arkansas is one of 24 states that allow citizen-led initiatives, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
After the attorney general certified the ballot measure in late May, Michelle Wolchok, president of the League of Women Voters of Washington County and a member of Save AR Democracy, said the group had to wait a few weeks to begin collecting signatures because the state hadn’t yet written directions for how to comply with about a dozen new state laws affecting the initiative process.
New requirements include requesting a photo ID from potential signees, informing them petition fraud is a criminal offense and having them read a petition’s ballot title or have it read to them. Proponents said the laws will protect the integrity of the process, while opponents argued they’ll make it nearly impossible for Arkansans’ proposals to qualify for the ballot.
The League of Women Voters of Arkansas officially kicked off its petition gathering campaign in mid-June, and Wolchok said the new laws have presented some issues. While canvassing, Wolchok said she’s lost some signatures because people didn’t have a photo ID with them. She’s also concerned about the time it takes to comply with the new laws.
“It is a harder ask to ask people of their time if they’re running into the grocery store or they’re in line to go see a concert at the AMP, to take up that little bit of extra time with them, it just takes longer to get each signature,” she said.
At this time, canvassers are all volunteers and the League has been focused on scheduling training so people can begin collecting signatures. During the Northwest Arkansas Pride festival in late June, five volunteers collected nearly 600 signatures in 10 hours.
While Wolchok is excited by this initial support, she said she’s also feeling daunted because it’s just “a drop in the bucket” of the nearly 91,000 signatures that need to be collected from 50 counties to qualify for the 2026 ballot.
The League collected a few more signatures Wednesday night at a meeting of the Washington County chapter. Members packed the patio at Crisis Brewery in south Fayetteville to learn more about upcoming training and canvassing events.
They also heard from guest speaker Bill Kopsky, executive director of the Arkansas Public Policy Panel and a member of the Protect AR Rights coalition, which has proposed its own direct democracy ballot measure that has yet to advance to the signature-gathering phase.
Attorney General Tim Griffin last week rejected the group’s measure for a second time for failing to meet a new state law that prohibits ballot titles from being written above an eighth-grade reading level. Kopsky said Protect AR Rights is working on revisions and intends to resubmit its proposal soon.
While Protect AR Rights and Save AR Democracy share the goal of protecting the initiative and referendum process in Arkansas, the language of their proposals differ in some respects and only the League’s has been certified by the attorney general.
Kopsky told the crowd one of the biggest differences between the two measures is his group’s proposal would require the state to notify voters if their signature is rejected and give them 10 days to correct any problems. Ballot measure sponsors would also be given time to correct errors, he said.
Members of both groups acknowledged Wednesday that their greatest chance of achieving their shared goal is by working together and said they plan to meet in the coming weeks to discuss what that might look like.
“Our ultimate goal is to protect the process for citizens, and we’re going to ultimately do what’s in the best interest of that,” Kopsky said in an interview. “I think ultimately we’re all going to have to consolidate around one. What that is, I think it’s too early to say.”
In hopes of qualifying for the 2026 ballot, Wolchok said the League is pursuing a multipronged approach. The group filed a lawsuit in April challenging several of the new direct democracy-related laws.
Protect AR Rights filed a motion to intervene in the lawsuit in May so they can challenge additional laws. If a judge denies the motion, Kopsky said they’ll file a separate lawsuit. Both groups are hoping a judge will block the new laws so they can collect signatures under previous rules.
The League is also awaiting a ruling in a separate case over a 2023 law that increased the threshold for gathering signatures from 15 counties to 50. The attorney general’s office filed a letter with the court Wednesday requesting a hearing with the new judge that’s been assigned to the case.
Meanwhile, members of the League of Women Voters like Wendy Finn are eager to support the democratic process by engaging in the organization’s initiatives. Finn, a board member of the League’s Washington County chapter, said she joined the organization two years ago because she was “really ticked off” after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
Joining the League and participating in its efforts is a great way “to channel anger and frustration with systems that are not functioning for us into positive civic action,” she said.
“You can rage in the streets all you want to, and we should rage in the streets if you’re upset about what your government’s doing,” Finn said. “It’s one of our freedoms that we have and we should exercise that, but the real work, the day-to-day work of democracy happens at the League.”
More information about the League of Women Voters’ upcoming canvasser training can be found on its Facebook page.
Arkansas Advocate is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arkansas Advocate maintains editorial independence. This article was published with permission from the Arkansas Advocate. Contact Editor Andrew DeMillo for questions: [email protected]. Follow Arkansas Advocate on Facebook and Twitter.
