Ark. Code Ann. § 7-9-126 (2026)
Count of signatures
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Upon the initial filing of an initiative petition or referendum petition, the official charged with verifying the signatures shall:
- Perform an initial count of the signatures; and
- 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.
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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:
- The petition is not an original petition, including without limitation a petition that is photocopied or is a facsimile transmission;
- The petition does not conform to the original draft filed under § 7-9-107;
- The petition lacks the signature, printed name, and residence address of the canvasser or is signed by more than one (1) canvasser;
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- 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.
- 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;
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The canvasser verification:
- Is not notarized;
- Is notarized by more than one (1) notary;
- Lacks a notary signature or a notary seal; or
- Lacks a legible notary signature or a legible notary seal;
- The canvasser verification is dated earlier than the date on which a petitioner signed the petition;
- 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
- The petition part has a material defect that, on its face, renders the petition part invalid.
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The following signatures shall not be counted for any purpose by the official charged with verifying the signatures, including the initial count of signatures:
- A signature that is not an original signature;
- A signature that is obviously not that of the purported petitioner;
- A signature that is illegible;
- A signature that is not accompanied by personally identifying information;
- 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;
- A signature obtained before the filing of the original draft for circulation under § 7-9-107; and
- A signature that has any other material defect that, on its face, renders the signature invalid.
- 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.
History. Acts 2013, No. 1413, § 18; 2015, No. 1219, § 3; 2019, No. 376, § 11.
Amendments. The 2015 amendment deleted former (b)(7) and redesignated former (b)(8) as (b)(7).
The 2019 amendment inserted the first occurrence of “petition” in the introductory language of (a); inserted (b)(2) and redesignated the remaining subdivisions accordingly; inserted “or updated” in (b)(4)(A); redesignated part of (b)(5) as (b)(5)(A) through (b)(5)(C); added (b)(5)(D); deleted “approved by the Attorney General” following “ballot title” in (b)(7); redesignated part of (c)(3) as (c)(4); redesignated former (c)(4) as (c)(5); inserted “or date of signing” in (c)(5); inserted (c)(6); redesignated former (c)(5) as (c)(7); and made stylistic changes.
Research References
Ark. L. Rev.
Lauren G. Summerhill, Legislative Note: Hugh Jazz Supports the Scholarship Lottery: The Arkansas General Assembly Wrecks the Right to Ballot Initiative with Act 1413, 67 Ark. L. Rev. 781 (2014).
Case Notes
Constitutionality.
Use of the term “anything of value” in defining “paid canvasser” in this section is not unconstitutionally vague. Use of the term “material defect” also is not unconstitutionally vague, as it is consistent with the Secretary of State's authority under Ark. Const. Art. 5, § 1 to determine the sufficiency of petitions subject to review by the Supreme Court. McDaniel v. Spencer, 2015 Ark. 94, 457 S.W.3d 641 (2015).
Provisions of this section pertaining to an official verifying and counting signatures on a petition do not violate rights to free speech and petition. McDaniel v. Spencer, 2015 Ark. 94, 457 S.W.3d 641 (2015).
Former subdivision (b)(7) of this section was unconstitutional in providing that every signature on a petition part was invalidated if the part contained signatures of more than one county; in invalidating an entire petition part for issues with individual signatures, the provision went beyond the power granted to the legislature in Ark. Const. Art. 5, § 1 (subdivision (b)(7) was deleted after this decision). McDaniel v. Spencer, 2015 Ark. 94, 457 S.W.3d 641 (2015).
Effective Date of 2019 Amendment.
Emergency clause of Acts 2019, No. 376 was defective where the stated basis was “to avoid confusion in petition circulation”; Act 376 added additional requirements for getting a referendum on the election ballot, and the prospect of affording those who seek to file a ballot petition additional notice of new requirements for that petition, especially when the people would not be voting on any such initiatives or referenda for at least another 15 months, did not amount to an emergency under Ark. Const., Art. 5, § 1. Safe Surgery Ark. v. Thurston, 2019 Ark. 403, 591 S.W.3d 293 (2019) (sub. op.).
As the emergency clause of Acts 2019, No. 376 was ineffective and Act 376’s new requirements were not in effect at the time petitioner filed its proposed referendum and supporting signatures, mandamus was granted directing the Secretary of State to address petitioner's referendum filings (seeking a referendum on Acts 2019, No. 579) under the pre-Act 376 legal framework for initiatives and referenda. Safe Surgery Ark. v. Thurston, 2019 Ark. 403, 591 S.W.3d 293 (2019) (sub. op.).
Signatures Disqualified.
Certain initiative petition signatures were excluded because petitions were verified before being signed. Benca v. Martin, 2016 Ark. 359, 500 S.W.3d 742 (2016).
Certain initiative petition signatures were excluded because (1) petitions did not state the canvasser's residence address, as some had no address, some used a post office box, and some used a business address, and (2) the limited clerical error exception in § 7-9-109 did not apply. Benca v. Martin, 2016 Ark. 359, 500 S.W.3d 742 (2016).
Initiative petition signatures were properly excluded because signatures on petitions that did not list canvassers' true residence addresses were invalid. Zook v. Martin, 2018 Ark. 306, 558 S.W.3d 385 (2018).
Subchapter 2 — Legislative Proposal of Constitutional Amendments
A.C.R.C. Notes. Acts 2013, No. 1413, § 1 provided: “Legislative findings.
“(a) The General Assembly finds that:
“(1) Through Amendment 7 to the Arkansas Constitution, the people of Arkansas have reserved to themselves the power to propose legislative measures, laws, and amendments to the Arkansas Constitution and to enact or reject the proposed measures, laws, and amendments at the polls independently of the General Assembly;
“(2) The citizens of this state have an expectation that their right of initiative and referendum will be respected and that the process of gathering signatures of registered voters will be free of fraud, forgery, and other illegal conduct by sponsors, canvassers, notaries, and petitioners;
“(3) Sponsors and paid canvassers may have an incentive to knowingly submit forged or otherwise invalid signatures in order to obtain additional time to gather signatures and submit supplemental petitions;
“(4) In 2012, sponsors of four (4) separate initiative petitions submitted petitions to the Secretary of State containing over two hundred ninety-eight thousand (298,000) purported signatures of registered voters;
“(5) Of the four petitions submitted, none had an initial validity rate in excess of fifty-six percent (56%), and three (3) of the petitions had an initial validity rate below thirty-one percent (31%); and
“(6) Of the three petitions with the lowest initial validity rate, there were widespread instances of apparent fraud, forgery, and false statements in the signature-gathering process.
“(b) It is further found and determined by the General Assembly that if an effort is not made to address these issues:
“(1) Untrained paid canvassers will continue to obtain and submit forged and otherwise facially invalid signatures; and
“(2) Unscrupulous sponsors and canvassers will continue to have an incentive to submit forged and otherwise facially invalid signatures and make false statements to the Secretary of State.
“(c) It is further found and determined by the General Assembly that if this act becomes law:
“(1) Sponsors and canvassers of proposed initiative measures will be held more accountable for their actions in gathering signatures from registered voters; and
“(2) The earlier determination of the insufficiency of petitions rife with false statements, forged signatures, and otherwise facially invalid signatures will result in less confusion and frustration with the initiative process.
“(d) For the reasons stated in this section, the General Assembly finds that passage of this act will make sponsors and canvassers more accountable to the people of this state, facilitate the initiative process, conserve state resources, and help to restore the confidence and trust of the people in the initiative process.”
Effective Dates. Acts 1923, No. 279, § 3: Emergency declared.
Acts 1927, No. 206, § 3: effective on passage.
Acts 2013, No. 1413, § 22: Apr. 22, 2013. Emergency clause provided: “It is found and determined by the General Assembly of the State of Arkansas that existing procedures for initiating and referring state laws and ordinances pursuant to Amendment 7 to the Arkansas Constitution and state statutes are inadequate to prevent fraudulent practices by sponsors and canvassers in obtaining ballot access; that this act addresses these inadequacies; and that this act is immediately necessary to prevent fraudulent practices because petition campaigns are either being conducted at the present time or may be conducted immediately upon the adjournment of the General Assembly with respect to either initiated or referred measures. Therefore, an emergency is declared to exist, and this act being immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health, and safety shall become effective on: (1) The date of its approval by the Governor; (2) If the bill is neither approved nor vetoed by the Governor, the expiration of the period of time during which the Governor may veto the bill; or (3) If the bill is vetoed by the Governor and the veto is overridden, the date the last house overrides the veto.”
Acts 2019, No. 376, § 14: Mar. 8, 2019. Emergency clause provided: “It is found and determined by the General Assembly of the State of Arkansas that this act amends the process for circulating initiative petitions and referendum petitions; and that the provisions of this act should become effective immediately so that its provisions apply to all petitions circulated after the passage of the act to avoid confusion in petition circulation. Therefore, an emergency is declared to exist, and this act being immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health, and safety shall become effective on: (1) The date of its approval by the Governor; (2) If the bill is neither approved nor vetoed by the Governor, the expiration of the period of time during which the Governor may veto the bill; or (3) If the bill is vetoed by the Governor and the veto is overridden, the date the last house overrides the veto”. The emergency clause for Acts 2019, No. 376 was held to be defective in Safe Surgery Ark. v. Thurston, 2019 Ark. 403.
Research References
Am. Jur. 16 Am. Jur. 2d, Const. Law, § 29 et seq.
C.J.S. 16 C.J.S., Const. Law, § 48 et seq.