Arkansas § 7-9-111 - Determination of sufficiency of petition — Corrections.

§ 7-9-111. Determination of sufficiency of petition — Corrections.

The Secretary of State shall ascertain and declare the sufficiency or insufficiency of the signatures submitted on each statewide initiative petition and each statewide referendum petition within thirty (30) days after it is filed. The Secretary of State may contract with the various county clerks for their assistance in verifying the signatures on petitions. The county clerk shall return the petitions to the Secretary of State within ten (10) days. If the statewide initiative petition or statewide referendum petition is found to be sufficient, the Secretary of State shall certify and record the finding and perform such other duties relating thereto as are required by law. If the signatures submitted on a statewide initiative petition or statewide referendum petition are found to be insufficient, the Secretary of State shall forthwith notify the sponsors in writing, through their designated agent, and shall set forth his or her reasons for so finding. When the notice is delivered, the sponsors shall have thirty (30) days in which to do any or all of the following: Solicit and obtain additional signatures; or Submit proof to show that the rejected signatures or some of them are good and should be counted. Any amendments and corrections shall not materially change the purpose and effect of the statewide initiative petition or statewide referendum petition. No change shall be made in the measure. The Secretary of State shall ascertain and declare the sufficiency or insufficiency of additional signatures submitted by the sponsors under this subsection within thirty (30) days of the filing of the supplemental petitions. To assist the Secretary of State in ascertaining the sufficiency or insufficiency of each statewide initiative petition and each statewide referendum petition, all county clerks shall furnish at cost to the Secretary of State a single alphabetical list of all registered voters in their respective counties. The list shall be provided at least four (4) months before the election, and an updated list shall be provided at cost by September 1 in the year of the election. The list shall include the date of birth of each registered voter. The State Board of Election Commissioners, upon the request of the county clerk, may grant a waiver from this provision if the board determines that the county clerk is unable to provide the list within the time required. A person filing statewide initiative petitions or statewide referendum petitions with the Secretary of State shall bundle the petitions by county and shall file an affidavit stating the number of petitions and the total number of signatures being filed. If signatures were obtained by paid canvassers, the person filing the petitions under this subsection shall also submit the following: A statement identifying the paid canvassers by name; and A statement signed by the sponsor indicating that the sponsor: Provided a copy of the most recent edition of the Secretary of State's initiatives and referenda handbook to each paid canvasser before the paid canvasser solicited signatures; and Explained the requirements under Arkansas law for obtaining signatures on an initiative or referendum petition to each paid canvasser before the paid canvasser solicited signatures. All county initiative and referendum elections shall be held in accordance with the provisions of § 14-14-917. Municipal referendum petition measures shall be submitted to the electors at a regular general election unless the petition expressly calls for a special election. If the date set by the petition does not allow sufficient time to comply with election procedures, then the city or town council shall fix the date for any special election on the referendum measure. The date of any special election shall be set in accordance with § 7-11-201 et seq. but in no event more than one hundred twenty (120) calendar days after the date of certification of sufficiency by the municipal clerk. When a statewide initiative petition or statewide referendum petition is submitted to the Secretary of State for determination of the sufficiency of the signatures, the Secretary of State shall submit the ballot title and popular name of the proposed measure to the board for certification as required by Arkansas Constitution, Article 5, § 1. The board shall determine whether to certify the ballot title and popular name submitted for a proposed measure within thirty (30) days after the ballot title and popular name are submitted by the Secretary of State under subdivision (i)(1) of this section. If the board determines that the ballot title and popular name, and the nature of the issue, is presented in a manner that is not misleading and not designed in such a manner that a vote “FOR” the issue would be a vote against the matter or viewpoint that the voter believes himself or herself to be casting a vote for, or, conversely, that a vote “AGAINST” an issue would be a vote for a viewpoint that the voter is against, the ballot title and popular name of the statewide initiative petition or statewide referendum petition shall be certified to the Secretary of State to be placed upon the ballot if the signatures on the statewide initiative petition or statewide referendum petition are determined to be sufficient. If the board determines that the ballot title or popular name, or the nature of the issue, is presented in such a manner that the ballot title or popular name would be misleading or 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 to be casting a vote for, or, conversely, that a vote “AGAINST” an issue would be a vote for a viewpoint that the voter is against, the board of shall: Not certify the ballot title and popular name; Notify the sponsors in writing, through their designated agent, that the ballot title and popular name were not certified and set forth its reasons for so finding. If the ballot title and popular name are not certified, the sponsor shall not submit a redesigned ballot title or popular name to the board; and Notify the Secretary of State that the ballot title and popular name were not certified. If the ballot title and popular name are not certified under subdivision (i)(4)(A) of this section, the Secretary of State shall declare the proposed measure insufficient for inclusion on the ballot for the election at which the statewide initiative petition or statewide referendum petition would be considered.