Federal judge issues preliminary injunction on several new direct democracy laws

U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks on Wednesday (Nov. 19) issued a preliminary injunction to halt enforcement of several new Arkansas laws that impact the petition gathering process for citizen initiatives.

The laws being challenged include Acts 218, 240, 241, 274, 453 and 602 among others. They touch on aspects of the law concerning the collection of ballot signatures for citizen initiatives, the process for groups seeking signatures, and the state’s role in regulating efforts.

The League Of Women Voters Of Arkansas, Save AR Democracy, Bonnie Heather Miller, and Danielle Quesnell are plaintiffs and Protect AR Rights and For AR Kids are two groups that have filed as intervenor-plaintiffs. Arkansas Secretary of State Cole Jester is the defendant, while Attorney General Tim Griffin is an intervenor-defendant.

“In the General Assembly’s book, high rates of signature invalidation under the existing, highly regulated petition validation system are only evidence that the system has failed, not that the system has worked. These high rates of invalidation are used to justify more regulation, which will inevitably result in even higher rates of invalidation, justifying even more regulation and steadily chipping away at the right to direct democracy enshrined in the Arkansas Constitution,” Brooks wrote.

His preliminary injunction affected the following laws:

• Disclosing or facilitating disclosure to any member of the public any information provided by Plaintiffs or Intervenor-Plaintiffs pursuant to the Pre-Collection Disclosure Requirements of Arkansas Code § 7-9-601;
• Enforcing Act 602 against Protect AR Rights, including by finding its petition insufficient based on the reading level of the petition’s ballot title;
• Enforcing Acts 241 and 453 against Plaintiffs, including by invalidating signatures, finding petitions insufficient, or pursuing criminal charges based on noncompliance; and
• Enforcing Acts 218, 240, and 274 against Plaintiffs or Intervenor-Plaintiffs, including by invalidating signatures, finding petitions insufficient, or pursuing criminal charges based on noncompliance.

Griffin’s spokesman Jeff LeMaster tells Talk Business & Politics, ““We’re reviewing the order and considering our next steps.”

“Today, the court agreed that these restrictive laws violate our constitutional right to free speech,” said Bonnie Miller, president of the League of Women Voters of Arkansas. “This is a victory not only for Arkansans and the League, but for all states with the initiative and referendum process. This lawsuit sends a message that politicians cannot legislate away our constitutional rights.”