Browse Arkansas Code titles and sections
7-9-126. Count of signatures.
Arkansas Code — all titles (historical 2020) · legal_authorities
7-9-126. Count of signatures.
(a) Upon the initial filing of an initiative petition or referendum petition, the official charged with verifying the signatures shall:
(1) Perform an initial count of the signatures; and
(2) Determine whether the petition contains, on its face and before verification of the signatures of registered voters, the designated number of signatures required by the Arkansas Constitution and statutory law in order to certify the measure for the election ballot.
(b) A petition part and all signatures appearing on the petition part shall not be counted for any purpose by the official charged with verifying the signatures, including the initial count of signatures, if one (1) or more of the following is true:
(1) The petition is not an original petition, including without limitation a petition that is photocopied or is a facsimile transmission;
(2) The petition does not conform to the original draft filed under § 7-9-107;
(3) The petition lacks the signature, printed name, and residence address of the canvasser or is signed by more than one (1) canvasser;
(4)(A) The canvasser is a paid canvasser whose name and the information required under § 7-9-601 were not submitted or updated by the sponsor to the Secretary of State before the petitioner signed the petition.
(B) A canvasser is a paid canvasser if he or she is paid money or anything of value for soliciting signatures before or after the signatures are obtained;
(5) The canvasser verification:
(A) Is not notarized;
(B) Is notarized by more than one (1) notary;
(C) Lacks a notary signature or a notary seal; or
(D) Lacks a legible notary signature or a legible notary seal;
(6) The canvasser verification is dated earlier than the date on which a petitioner signed the petit
Source: Arkansas Code — historical release 78 (November 6, 2020) · 7-9-126
Stored review status: Historical 2020-11-06 source release; later amendments not reconciled; machine-extracted, not independently legally reviewed; source heading status: text_in_historical_source. A text match is a research starting point; applicability is not established.
Issuing source page ↗
Authority boundary: historical statutory source snapshot not current law.
Open the recorded source website ↗
Record provenance
Stable record: arkansas_code:legal_authorities:7-9-126
Source file: gov.ar.code.title.07.odt
Pages: Not recorded – Not recorded
Passage SHA-256: c0c970c87faf12f3d6efcc5d592025030e90c9de3cbbd6be1f8e1bade665446f
Source location: content.xml paragraph 7233
Stored source content
7-9-126. Count of signatures.
(a) Upon the initial filing of an initiative petition or referendum petition, the official charged with verifying the signatures shall:
(1) Perform an initial count of the signatures; and
(2) Determine whether the petition contains, on its face and before verification of the signatures of registered voters, the designated number of signatures required by the Arkansas Constitution and statutory law in order to certify the measure for the election ballot.
(b) A petition part and all signatures appearing on the petition part shall not be counted for any purpose by the official charged with verifying the signatures, including the initial count of signatures, if one (1) or more of the following is true:
(1) The petition is not an original petition, including without limitation a petition that is photocopied or is a facsimile transmission;
(2) The petition does not conform to the original draft filed under § 7-9-107;
(3) The petition lacks the signature, printed name, and residence address of the canvasser or is signed by more than one (1) canvasser;
(4)(A) The canvasser is a paid canvasser whose name and the information required under § 7-9-601 were not submitted or updated by the sponsor to the Secretary of State before the petitioner signed the petition.
(B) A canvasser is a paid canvasser if he or she is paid money or anything of value for soliciting signatures before or after the signatures are obtained;
(5) The canvasser verification:
(A) Is not notarized;
(B) Is notarized by more than one (1) notary;
(C) Lacks a notary signature or a notary seal; or
(D) Lacks a legible notary signature or a legible notary seal;
(6) The canvasser verification is dated earlier than the date on which a petitioner signed the petition;
(7) The petition fails to comply with § 7-9-104 or § 7-9-105, including the lack of the exact popular name or ballot title for a statewide initiative, a discrepancy in the text of the initiated or referred measure, or the lack of an enacting clause in a statewide petition for an initiated act; or
(8) The petition part has a material defect that, on its face, renders the petition part invalid.
(c) The following signatures shall not be counted for any purpose by the official charged with verifying the signatures, including the initial count of signatures:
(1) A signature that is not an original signature;
(2) A signature that is obviously not that of the purported petitioner;
(3) A signature that is illegible;
(4) A signature that is not accompanied by personally identifying information;
(5) A signature for which the corresponding printed name, address, birth date, or date of signing is written by someone other than the signer except under circumstances of disability of the signer;
(6) A signature obtained before the filing of the original draft for circulation under § 7-9-107; and
(7) A signature that has any other material defect that, on its face, renders the signature invalid.
(d) If the initial count of signatures under this section is less than the designated number of signatures required by the Arkansas Constitution and statutory law in order to certify the measure for the ballot and the deadline for filing petitions has passed, the official charged with verifying the signatures shall declare the petition insufficient and shall not accept and file any additional signatures to cure the insufficiency of the petition on its face.
Cross-references
Connections may be documented source relationships, shared citations or nearby passages. Each explains its basis; a connection alone does not establish applicability to your situation.
Arkansas Code — all titles (historical 2020) · legal_authorities
7-9-104. Form of initiative petition — Sufficiency of signatures.
(a) The petition for an ordinance, act, or amendment proposed by initiative shall be on substantially the following form:
“INITIATIVE PETITION To the Honorable Secretary of State of the State of Arkansas, or County Clerk, or City Clerk We, the undersigned registered voters of the State of Arkansas, or County, Arkansas, or City of , or Incorporated Town of , Arkansas (as the case may be), respectfully propose the following amendment to the Constitution of the State or act or ordinance (as the case may be), and by this, our petition, order that the same be submitted to the people of said state, or county, or municipality (as the case may be), to the end that the same may be adopted, enacted, or rejected by the vote of the registered voters of said (state, county, or municipality) at the regular general election to be held on the day of , 20 , and each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the State of Arkansas, or County, Arkansas, or City of , or Incorporated Town of , Arkansas (as the case may be), and my printed name, date of birth, residence, city or town of residence, and date of signing this petition are correctly written after my signature. (Here insert popular name and ballot title of initiated measure.) (In the case of a proposed initiated act or ordinance, insert the following: BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS, OR COUNTY, ARKANSAS, OR CITY OF OR INCORPORATED TOWN OF , ARKANSAS (as the case may be)): (Here insert full text of initiated measure.)”
Click to view form.
(b) No additional sheets of voter signatures shall be attached to any petition unless the sheets contain the full language of the
Source: Arkansas Code — historical release 78 (November 6, 2020) · 7-9-104
Stored review status: Historical 2020-11-06 source release; later amendments not reconciled; machine-extracted, not independently legally reviewed; source heading status: text_in_historical_source. The source passage cites 7-9-104. This identifies an authority to review, not proof of applicability.
Arkansas Code — all titles (historical 2020) · legal_authorities
7-9-105. Form of referendum petition — Sufficiency of signatures.
(a) The petition and order of referendum for an ordinance or act shall be on substantially the following form:
“REFERENDUM PETITION To the Honorable Secretary of State of the State of Arkansas, or County Clerk, or City Clerk We, the undersigned registered voters of the State of Arkansas, or County, Arkansas, or City or Incorporated Town of , Arkansas, (as the case may be) respectfully order by this, our petition, that Act No. of the General Assembly of the State of Arkansas, approved on the day of , 20 , entitled ‘An Act ’ or Ordinance No. , passed by the county quorum court, the city (or town) council of the City (or Incorporated Town), or County of , Arkansas, on the day of , 20 , entitled, ‘An Ordinance ,’ be referred to the people of said state, county, or municipality (as the case may be), to the end that the same may be approved or rejected by the vote of the registered voters of the state, or of said county or municipality (as the case may be) at the biennial (or annual, as the case may be, if a city ordinance) regular general election (or at a special election, as the case may be) to be held on the day of , 20 ; and each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of the State of Arkansas, or County, Arkansas, or City of , or Incorporated Town of , Arkansas (as the case may be), and my printed name, date of birth, residence, city or town of residence, and date of signing this petition are correctly written after my signature. (Here insert popular name and ballot title of referred measure.) REFERRED TO THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS, OR COUNTY, ARKANSAS, OR CITY OF OR INCORPORATED TOWN OF , ARKANSAS (as the
Source: Arkansas Code — historical release 78 (November 6, 2020) · 7-9-105
Stored review status: Historical 2020-11-06 source release; later amendments not reconciled; machine-extracted, not independently legally reviewed; source heading status: text_in_historical_source. The source passage cites 7-9-105. This identifies an authority to review, not proof of applicability.
Arkansas Code — all titles (historical 2020) · legal_authorities
7-9-107. Filing of original draft before circulation.
(a) Before any initiative petition or referendum petition ordering a vote upon any amendment or act shall be circulated for obtaining signatures of petitioners, the sponsors shall file the original draft with the Secretary of State.
(b) The original draft shall include:
(1) The full text of the proposed measure;
(2) A ballot title for the proposed measure; and
(3) A popular name for the proposed measure.
(c) The Secretary of State shall return to the sponsor a file-marked copy of the original draft that shall serve as evidence that the original draft was filed in compliance with this section.
(d) The sponsor may begin circulating an initiative petition or referendum petition upon receipt of the file-marked copy under subsection (c) of this section.
Source: Arkansas Code — historical release 78 (November 6, 2020) · 7-9-107
Stored review status: Historical 2020-11-06 source release; later amendments not reconciled; machine-extracted, not independently legally reviewed; source heading status: text_in_historical_source. The source passage cites 7-9-107. This identifies an authority to review, not proof of applicability.
Arkansas Code — all titles (historical 2020) · legal_authorities
7-9-601. Hiring and training of paid canvassers — Definition.
(a)(1) A person shall not provide money or anything of value to another person for obtaining signatures on a statewide initiative petition or statewide referendum petition unless the person receiving the money or item of value meets the requirements of this section.
(2) Before a signature is solicited by a paid canvasser the sponsor shall:
(A) Provide the paid canvasser with a copy of the most recent edition of the Secretary of State's initiatives and referenda handbook;
(B) Explain the Arkansas law applicable to obtaining signatures on an initiative or referendum petition to the canvasser;
(C)(i) Provide a complete list of all paid canvassers' names and current residential addresses to the Secretary of State.
(ii) If additional paid canvassers agree to solicit signatures on behalf of a sponsor after the complete list is provided, the sponsor shall provide an updated list of all paid canvassers' names and current residential addresses to the Secretary of State; and
(D) Submit to the Secretary of State a copy of the signed statement provided by the paid canvasser under subdivision (d)(3) of this section.
(3) Upon filing the petition with the Secretary of State, the sponsor shall submit to the Secretary of State a:
(A) Final list of the names and current residential addresses of each paid canvasser; and
(B) Signature card for each paid canvasser.
(b)(1) To verify that there are no criminal offenses on record, a sponsor shall obtain, at the sponsor’s cost, from the Division of Arkansas State Police, a current state and federal criminal record search on every paid canvasser to be registered with the Secretary of State.
(2) The criminal record search shall be obtained within thirty (30) day
Source: Arkansas Code — historical release 78 (November 6, 2020) · 7-9-601
Stored review status: Historical 2020-11-06 source release; later amendments not reconciled; machine-extracted, not independently legally reviewed; source heading status: text_in_historical_source. The source passage cites 7-9-601. This identifies an authority to review, not proof of applicability.