What Does 2018 Have in Store for Arkansas Voters?

• Petitioners were out this past week asking holiday shoppers in Little Rock for their signatures to help put the Arkansas Term Limits Amendment on the 2018 ballot. This group is still the only initiative from the public certified by the Attorney General to collect voter signatures for the 2018 ballot. They have reported $5,500 in contributions received and $6,215 in expenses. 

• The deadline to submit voter signatures to the Secretary of State's Office for the November 2018 election is July 6, although campaigns have to first publish their ballot measure in a newspaper by June 6. This means any other group seeking the 2018 ballot will have to submit a ballot title to the Attorney General for approval and collect voter signatures in the next six to seven months.  

• Voters will decide the fate of two constitutional amendments proposed by the legislature. 

• Ballot issue groups on opposing sides of SJR8 have raised a combined $1.67 million for their campaigns, according to financial reports filed with the Arkansas Ethics Commission. This ballot measure seeks to establish a dollar limit for financial damages awarded in certain types of lawsuits, shift authority from the state supreme court to the legislature in setting court rules and procedures, and limit how much attorneys are paid in medical injury lawsuits. Supporters of these types of laws often use the phrase "tort reform" when talking about them.

• As of December, no one has filed with the Arkansas Ethics Commission to indicate they would be raising money on campaigns for or against HJR1016, which would add a requirement in the state constitution that Arkansans must present photo identification when voting in person or through absentee ballot.