Regnat Populus (The People Rule

Story by KRISTIN FOSTER

The first power reserved by the people is the initiative… The second power reserved by the people is the referendum - Arkansas Constitution Article 5, § 1

IN 1910 THE ARKANSAS POPULIST PARTY ENDORSED A LEGISLATIVELY REFERRED AMENDMENT to allow citizens the right to alter the state constitution via initiative or referendum. Since then, Arkansans have vigorously practiced their right to direct democracy, bringing hundreds of initiatives to the ballot box. The 2020 election cycle will continue that tradition with several measures likely to be certified for November. Each initiative will be laid out in more detail over the next few months, but before covering the policies it is important to understand the process involved with bringing these issues to voters. There are three types of measures that could potentially end up on the 2020 ballot: legislatively referred constitutional amendments, citizen initiated constitutional amendments, and one veto referendum.

Legislatively Referred Constitutional Amendment (LRCA)

During the regular legislative session, state lawmakers are allowed to refer up to three constitutional amendments to the ballot. In 2019 legislators filed dozens of proposed amendments and whittled the list down to three amendments for voters to decide on in November. As long as none of these amendments are struck down by the courts, they will appear on the ballot as the first three non-candidate measures for voter consideration.

Issue One is titled An Amendment To Continue a Levy of OneHalf Percent Sales and Use Tax for the State’s Highway System, County Roads, and City Streets. Issue Two is The Arkansas Term Limits Amendment. Issue Three is titled An Amendment to the Arkansas Constitution to Amend the Process for the Submission and Approval of Proposed Initiated Acts, Constitutional Amendments, and Referenda. Next month I will provide more in depth information on each amendment.

Citizen Initiated Constitutional Amendment (CICA)

A Citizen Initiated Constitutional Amendment (CICA) is one of the most popular forms of direct democracy. So far, 13 CICA measures have been submitted for circulation this year. In order to gain ballot access for a CICA the amendment sponsor must secure petition signatures from 89,151 registered Arkansas voters in at least 15 counties across the state. Before a petition can be

circulated, the amendment sponsor must submit the draft of the bill, proposed ballot title, and popular name to the secretary of state’s office for approval. Once approved the amendment may then be circulated for signatures. All petitions must be submitted to the secretary of state no later than four months prior to the election. That deadline is July 3 for the 2020 election cycle.

Prior to verification of signatures, the ballot language, title, and popular name are submitted to the state board of election commissioners. The board is tasked with verifying that the ballot title and popular name “is presented in a manner that is not misleading and not designed in such manner that a vote ‘FOR’ the issue would be a vote against the matter or viewpoint that the voter believes himself or herself casting a vote for, or, conversely, that a vote ‘AGAINST’ an issue would be a vote for a viewpoint that the voter is against.”

If the ballot title and popular name are approved, the next step is verifying that each signature matches the voter information on file for that signer. If the petition has at least 75 percent of the signatures required, the sponsor is allowed a “cure period” of 30 days to reach the threshold of 89,151 valid signatures.

Veto Referendum

A veto referendum is not a common issue on statewide ballots, but one measure has been certified for 2020 so it is worth mentioning here. The veto referendum is a measure that asks voters to uphold or overturn a state statute passed by the legislature. The path to the ballot is the same as a citizen initiated constitutional amendment, but with a lower signature requirement. For 2020 a petition containing at least 53,491 valid signatures from registered Arkansas voters must be submitted.

The veto referendum on the ballot in November is titled the Practice of Optometry Referendum and specifically addresses Act 579 of 2019. Look for more detailed information on this referendum in a later installment. l

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“One of our application questions was: ‘how will you change the world?’ To which, I responded: ‘I will change the world by working with global leaders to advance opportunities for business, professional and academic collaboration.’”

A 2011 graduate of ATU, Grate earned degrees in public relations, broadcast journalism and speech communication with minors in business and history. She was named the 2011 recipient of the Margaret Young Award, which is presented annually to the most outstanding senior female student at ATU.

Grate served as president and public relations and recruitment officer for Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) during her time at ATU. Originally from Pottsville, she also belonged to the Society of Professional Journalists, the Public Relations Student Society of America and the forensics program at Tech.

Her other affiliations at Arkansas Tech included student radio station KXRJ 91.9 FM, the Arkansas Tech student television station, Student Government Association, Volunteer Action Council and the university standing committee for guidance and counseling.

Grate earned the Dr. Robert Edwards Book Scholarship, a Dean’s Scholarship, a departmental performance scholarship and multiple Dean’s List awards at Tech.

Following her graduation from ATU, Grate served in the Peace Corps in the African nation of Togo. She went on to live and work in the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic, France, New Zealand and Australia during her eight years abroad. Grate returned to the U.S. in 2019 to begin pursuit of a master’s degree through the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service.

The EmpowHER program that Grate is involved with during summer 2020 was founded eight years ago. The initiative has grown from an initial cohort of three women in 2012 to count 114 individuals among its alumnae.

“One thing I hope to gain from my experience in the EmpowHER program is a tribe of daring women,” said Grate. “Members of this cohort are doing big things. I am grateful to be connected with them and equally inspired.” l

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