Sponsors of Two Statewide Ballot Initiatives Submit Petitions by Deadline
Monday, Jul 7, 2008
Secretary of State has 30 days to verify validity of signatures
(LITTLE ROCK, AR)—By the close of business today, two sponsors of statewide ballot initiatives have submitted petitions to the Secretary of State’s office for verification.
The 2008 signature requirements for ballot issues are 77,468 for proposed constitutional amendments and 61,974 for initiated acts. The Secretary of State has 30 days from the date of submittal to verify signatures up to 10% above the required number.
If a petition is found not to contain the required number of valid signatures, the sponsor has 30 days from the date of notification of insufficiency to collect additional signatures or submit proof that rejected signatures should be counted. If the petition is determined to be sufficient, the statewide initiative will appear on the general election ballot on November 4.
Hope for Arkansas submitted petitions for a proposed constitutional amendment on June 26, 2008 to authorize the General Assembly to establish, operate, and regulate state lotteries to fund scholarships and grants for Arkansas citizens enrolled in certified two-year and four-year colleges and universities in Arkansas. The Secretary of State’s office is currently verifying the signatures on these petitions.
This afternoon, the Family Council Action Committee submitted petitions for an initiated act to provide that an individual who is cohabiting outside of a valid marriage may not adopt or be a foster parent of a child less than eighteen years old. Petition verification will commence following the completion of the first submitted proposal.
Sponsors of six other proposed ballot issues with approved popular names and ballot titles did not submit petitions by today’s deadline.
The full ballot titles of the proposed issues can be found at www.votenaturally.org.
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Contact: Natasha Naragon
Phone: (501) 683-1441
Email: natasha.naragon@sos.arkansas.gov
Arkansas Secretary of State Charlie Daniels
256 State Capitol Building
Little Rock, Arkansas 72201
Phone: (501) 682-1010
Website: www.sos.ar.gov
Email: arsos@sos.ar.gov
