Judge hears testimony in case over Arkansas’ initiative process restrictions 

A federal judge who prevented Arkansas from enforcing new limits on the initiative and referendum process heard testimony Tuesday as he weighs whether to permanently block the restrictions.

The case stems from a lawsuit filed against Secretary of State Cole Jester in 2025 by the League of Women Voters of Arkansas. Two ballot question committees, Protect AR Rights and For AR Kids, were later allowed to intervene in the case. 

The groups, who collected signatures to qualify their three proposed constitutional amendments for the November ballot, argue the laws make it nearly impossible for Arkansans to propose their own constitutional amendments and laws and place them before voters. Supporters of the laws have said they’re needed to protect the process. 

Federal judge rules Arkansas initiative restrictions unconstitutional

U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks issued a preliminary injunction in November that temporarily blocked the state from enforcing some of the laws against parties involved in the suit, including two that require canvassers to request a photo ID from potential signers and inform them that petition fraud is a criminal offense.

Earlier this month, Brooks deemed some of the challenged laws unconstitutional, but took no additional action. He left the preliminary injunction in place and allowed a handful of claims in the case to proceed to a trial that began Tuesday morning in Fayetteville. 

Brooks is considering whether the requirements for all canvassers to be Arkansas residents and paid canvassers to be domiciled in Arkansas, and a prohibition on paying canvassers based on the number of signatures obtained, violate the First Amendment of the Constitution. Brooks was also considering whether the photo ID law and the law requiring potential signers to read a petition’s ballot title are unconstitutionally vague.

Attorneys on Tuesday morning questioned Bonnie Miller, president of the League of Women Voters of Arkansas and chair of Save AR Democracy, a ballot question committee that pursued a constitutional amendment aimed at strengthening the state’s direct democracy process. 

Miller, who has worked on other ballot measure campaigns, said paid canvassers are key to success because relying on volunteers can be limiting due to work and family schedules. 

The League could not recruit willing volunteers from out-of-state chapters because state law requires canvassers to be Arkansas residents, she said. 

The League of Women Voters’ all-volunteer campaign was unsuccessful in collecting sufficient signatures to qualify their measure for the November ballot, said Miller, who argued the state’s initiative and referendum process isn’t accessible to Arkansans because of all the legislative restrictions.

“This process is not open to us,” she said. “It’s not a process for everyday folks, for volunteers, for grassroots orgs, and that’s who this process should be for.”

Jordan Broyles, an attorney representing the state, noted that Protect AR Rights was able to collect and submit the requisite number of signatures for another proposed constitutional amendment dealing with direct democracy despite the state laws Miller cited.

Protect AR Rights received more than $933,000 from the National Education Association that it used for paid canvassers. Save AR Democracy received about $5,300 in total contributions throughout its campaign, according to a June financial report. 

Protect AR Rights was the only group to submit signatures to the Secretary of State by the July 3 deadline. The secretary of state’s office has 30 days to notify sponsors if they’ve collected enough signatures for the November ballot or if they’ve qualified for more time to collect additional signatures. Samantha Boyd, a spokesperson for the secretary of state’s office, said Tuesday they anticipate having the review completed by the weekend. 

Upon resumption of the trial midday, the hearing was expected to last through the late afternoon and perhaps into Wednesday morning.