Protect AR Constitution
Campaign Status: Victory
Outcome
Led by in-state groups like Protect AR Constitution, Arkansans saw through the shameless attempt by politicians to take away their rights. By rejecting Amendment 2, they successfully stopped a corrupt scheme to make it harder for voters to pass laws at the ballot.
The Policy
Defeat Amendment 2 and preserve voters’ power to pass ballot initiatives by a simple majority.
Background
Amendment 2 was introduced by legislators as a clear attempt to make it nearly impossible for Arkansans to exercise their Constitutional right to petition the government. They are seeking to raise the threshold for passing ballot initiatives from a simple majority to 60%. In order to combat this power grab by Little Rock politicians and special interests, a coalition of pro-voter citizens and organizations formed to defeat Amendment 2 and protect voters’ constitutionally-guaranteed power to rule.
Who’s Involved?
Protect AR Constitution is a bi-partisan group of Arkansans from across the state who agree that a majority of Arkansas voters should decide on the issues that matter most to us, not politicians and lobbyists. Its partners include Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, AR NAACP, Arkansas Education Association, Arkansas United, Arkansas Citizens First Congress, For AR People, Arkansas Public Policy Panel, AAUW of Arkansas, Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, Indivisible of LR and Central AR, Arkansas Community Organization, and RepresentUs.
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Like This
The Common Wealth is a community of people across the country who have made a commitment to building a democracy that works for everyone. By making a generous gift each month, they directly support the fight to fix our broken political system: city by city, state by state.
100% of donations support the front lines of the movement.
Get Involved
Campaign Milestones
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Nov 2022
Arkansas voters defeat Amendment 2 and preserve voters’ power to pass ballot initiatives by a simple majority.
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Oct 2022
Ahead of the November election, Protect AR Constitution releases its first ad exposing the truth about Amendment 2 on the Arkansas ballot.
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Sep 2022
Protect AR Rights forms coalition to organize defense and defeat Amendment 2.
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Apr 2022
The Arkansas State Senate and Arkansas House of Representatives vote to put Amendment 2 in front of voters on the November ballot.
The Latest From This Campaign
State’s voters reject Issues 1, 2
Nov 9 2022
"We have a long history of supporting direct democracy; it's really important to Arkansans," Miller said. "Arkansans know better, we are smart and we could see them trying to pull the wool over our eyes."
Read MoreActivists move against increase of vote threshold in Arkansas, saying it stifles power
Sep 23 2022
"We are opposed to any power being taken by the people, any power being restricted, any power hampered, any power in any way diminished," said Kwami Abdul-Bey, elections coordinator for the Arkansas Public Policy Panel.
Read MoreGroup forms to oppose higher threshold for amendment, initiated act passage
Sep 20 2022
Protect AR Rights, a citizen-led effort to “preserve Arkansans’ constitutional right to use ballot measures to reform our laws and political process,” has formed a Legislative Question Committee to oppose Ballot Issue 2 this November.
Read More