HB1042
To Create The Direct Democracy Act Of 2025; To Repeal The Ensuring Access For All Arkansans And Voter Protection Act Of 2023; And To Amend The Procedure For The Filing Of A Ballot Initiative Petition And Referendum Petition.
Last Action (May 5, 2025): Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment.
Sponsors
AI-Generated Summary
House Bill 1042, titled the 'Direct Democracy Act of 2025,' proposes to repeal the 'Ensuring Access for All Arkansans and Voter Protection Act of 2023.' The bill focuses on modifying the legal procedures and requirements for filing statewide ballot initiatives and referendum petitions in Arkansas. Specifically, it seeks to remove existing subsections of Arkansas Code § 7-9-126 that mandate signature verification across at least fifty counties and require a minimum threshold of signatures from those counties. By repealing these sections, the bill aims to alter the criteria under which the Secretary of State or other election officials determine the sufficiency of a petition for the ballot. It also removes specific prohibitions against accepting additional signatures to cure petition insufficiencies after a filing deadline has passed.
Potential Impact Analysis
Who Might Benefit?
The primary beneficiaries of this bill would be advocacy groups, political organizations, and grassroots movements seeking to place initiatives or referendums on the statewide ballot. By repealing the requirement to collect signatures from at least fifty individual counties, these groups would likely face fewer logistical hurdles and lower costs when attempting to qualify measures for a public vote, as they could focus their signature-gathering efforts in more densely populated areas.
Who Might Suffer?
The bill would likely be viewed as negatively impacting those who support more stringent geographic distribution requirements for ballot measures, such as proponents of the current system who argue that it ensures statewide consensus before a measure reaches the ballot. Additionally, state election officials and administrative bodies tasked with maintaining petition integrity might see a shift in the standard and regulatory framework they are required to enforce, potentially complicating the verification process in the absence of the repealed statutes.
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