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Strong Public Schools: VOTER Information for November
With the COVID-19 related upheaval, there has been some confusion around voting this year. In Arkansas, we have local, state and national races on our ballot as well as some proposed changes to our state Constitution. With so much on the line, we want to make sure you know the scoop on voting in Arkansas this year.
WHAT’S ON THE BALLOT? In addition to the Presidential election, all 4 of Arkansas’s Congressional seats are on the ballot, as well as many critical State Senate and State House seats. In addition, many school districts have chosen to hold their school board elections during this year’s November 3 General Election. That includes the Little Rock School District which has been without a democratically elected school board for nearly six years. In addition, voters will be asked to reject or approve three amendments to the Arkansas Constitution.
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ISSUE ONE MARKING PERMANENT A 0.5% STATE SALES TAX THAT CURRENTLY FUNDS STATE, COUNTY AND CITY ROAD WORK. In 2012, voters approved a sales tax increase to fund highways, county roads, bridges etc. That tax increase was set to expire in ten years. Now, the state legislature is asking voters to approve the indefinite 0.5% sales tax increase.
ISSUE TWO
ARKANSAS TERM LIMITS.
This is a proposed amendment to Arkansas’s Constitution. It significantly overhauls the current term limits for state legislators. This proposal seeks to eliminate life-time term limits for state legislators, prohibit future legislators from serving more than 12 years in a row. Legislators who serve the full 12 years consecutively would be allowed to hold office again once four years have passed since their last term expired. It also Includes two-year senate terms resulting from apportionment after a census in calculating the years of consecutive service for legislators elected after Jan. 1, 2021. Currently, this two-year partial term does not count toward term limits and allows current legislators, and any legislators elected this November to serve under the current term limit amendment, which allows them to serve 16 years consecutively or non-consecutively. They would be eligible to hold office in the future once four years have passed since the end of their last term.
ISSUE THREE
CHANGING ARKANSAS’ CITIZEN INITIATIVE PROCESS.
The Arkansas Committee for Children and Public Education, AEA’s PAC has taken a position of OPPOSITION to this proposed Constitutional Amendment, as it would significantly limit the ability of Arkansans to put issues on the ballot. Recent examples of ballot measures initiated by citizens include the 2014 and 2018 increase to the state minimum wage. If this passes, it would significantly restrict ballot access. AEA urges a no vote on this proposal.
Okay, now you know what to expect; let’s make sure you’re ready to vote! Visit bit.ly/AEAvote to check your registration, learn about absentee voting and much more!
If you have any questions about voting, please contact Susana O’Daniel, AEA Director of Public Affairs: sodaniel@aeanea.org
CRITICAL DEADLINES 4 Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, 2020.4 The deadline for registering by mail to vote is (postmarked by) Monday, October 5, 2020.4 The deadline to register in person to vote is Monday, October 5, 2020.4 The deadline to request a ballot by mail is (received by) Tuesday, October 27, 2020.4 The early voting period runs from Monday, October 19, 2020 to Monday, November 2, 2020, but dates and hours may vary based on where you live.
AEA QUARAN-TEAM PARTICIPATES IN VIRTUAL REPRESENTATIVE ASSEMBLY
The NEA Representative Assembly moved to a virtual conference in response to the coronavirus pandemic, so Arkansas’s delegates participated online from their homes rather than traveling to Atlanta. In normal years, the RA brings thousands of educators from across the country together under one roof to debate issues and guide the work of the National Education Association. The Arkansas Delegation’s morning meetings, normally held to review and take positions on new business items or amendments, were replaced with a zoom meeting and the full event was also streamlined. Due to the limited technology capabilities in relation to debate and action, New Business Items, Resolutions, Legislative, Constitutional and Bylaw Amendments were all postponed until the 2021 Representative Assembly. NEA elections are also usually conducted in-person at NEA’s Representative Assembly, but due to the coronavirus pandemic, this year they were held remotely with nearly 6,000 elected NEA delegates casting mail-in ballots. Becky Pringle, a science teacher from Harrisburg, Pa., is the newly elected president of the National Education Association. Pringle, who served as NEA vice president for six years, assumed her new duties on September 1. On that date, she became not only the leader of the nation’s largest union representing 3 million educators but also the highest-ranking African American female labor leader. Joining Pringle on the new NEA leadership team are NEA Vice President Princess Moss of Virginia and new Secretary-Treasurer Noel Candelaria of Texas. The delegates also reelected Hanna Vaandering, an elementary physical education teacher from Ridgewood Elementary in Beaverton, Ore., to the NEA Executive Committee.
