Bills regulating signature gathering passed
T he Senate has approved a package of bills with tougher regulations for the signature-gathering process by which citizens can place issues on statewide ballots.
In recent years, the Legislature has passed numerous new laws to prevent voter fraud and protect election integrity. The secretary of state, the top election official in Arkansas, recently issued a report in which he gave the state good grades for its voter integrity laws.
However, he gave Arkansas poor grades for the security of our signature-gathering process, saying that wealthy out-of-state groups “are able to get almost any issue on Arkansas ballots.”
His report stated that “almost all petitions provided to the Secretary of State’s Office contain tens of thousands of invalid signatures and thousands of duplicate signatures.”
The Senate has approved a package of bills to prevent deceptive practices when canvassers collect signatures from registered voters, in order to place an issue on the ballot.
Senate Bill 207 requires canvassers to inform people, before collecting their signatures, that petition fraud is a class A misdemeanor. The disclosure could be verbal, or in a separate written document that would be shown to people before they sign.
SB208 requires canvassers to view a photo ID of each person signing the petition. If canvassers are unable to verify someone’s identity, they may not collect a signature.
SB209 directs the secretary of state to not count signatures on a petition if a preponderance of evidence indicates that the canvasser has violated state laws or provisions in the state Constitution regarding canvassing, perjury, forgery or fraudulent practices in getting signatures.
SB210 requires people to read the ballot title of a ballot issue before signing the petition. The ballot title is a summary of all the provisions in the proposed constitutional amendment or initiated act. The bill allows for the ballot title to be read to the person signing, in the presence of the canvasser.
SB211 requires canvassers to submit a sworn statement that he or she has complied with all state laws governing the collection of signatures, and with the Constitution. Unless the canvasser submits the sworn statement, any signatures he or she turns in will not be counted by the secretary of state.
In other news, the Senate Committee on Revenue and Taxation endorsed legislation last week that would save Arkansas homeowners more than $56 million. It is SB263 and it will take effect in 2026, when it raises the homestead property tax credit by $100. The credit is currently $500. A spokesman for the state Department of Finance and Administration said that about 708,000 homeowners would benefit from the bill.
The Senate approved SB223, known as the Religious Rights at Public Schools Act of 2025. It would put into one law all the various religious rights of students, teachers and school administrators. The act will be distributed to all students and staff at the beginning of each school year.
Sen. Reginald Murdock
