Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Monday's Court Action In Striking All But One Gambling Amendment Would Not Have Taken Place With Law

By JOHN MILLER

Had Amendment 3 already been passed, the three gambling amendments struck from the Nov. 5 ballot would have been left alone.

According to State Sen. Mike Ross and State Rep. Percy Malone, Amendment 3 could be one of the most beneficial of all to Arkansas voters.

Under its provisions, last minute lawsuits to have ballot proposals removed would be severely restricted after the proposals have been certified and placed on the ballot.

Amendments 5, 7 and 8 were removed from the ballot because of last minute legal challenged Monday, Oct. 21. All three proposed amendments involved gambling in some form or fashion.

Ross said Amendment 3 would put a deadline on when challenges to issues could be filed, thereby eliminating last minute appeals and suits.

In addition, he said for those ballot titles which are successfully challenged, the Arkansas Supreme Court can simply rename the issue more appropriately and leave it on the ballot for the voters to decide.

Malone said this will make it less cumbersome for the public to get initiatives on the ballot, as well as avoiding the legal challenges.

Both agreed it takes the public too much work to get an issue on the ballot for it to be challenged and removed at the last minute.

The two also were in agreement the people are frustrated by such challenges, especially after the last time it occurred and an entire slate of amendments and initiatives were wiped off the ballot.

Those initiatives and amendments included two issues on this year's ballot. One was the 1/8 cent state sales tax increase for the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, as well as gambling amendments proposed at the time.

These issues could have already been decided and the results enacted had their ballot titles not been successfully challenged at the time.

Another thing Amendment 3 would do is allow the general assembly to place up to five initiatives on the ballot. Currently, only three issues can be placed before the public in a general election by the legislature.

"This would put a stop to the (last minute) challenges," Malone said of Amendment 3. "It has clearly defined procedures on how everything is to be handled in a straightforward manner for the public to get issues on the ballot."

The five measures allowable by the legislature, he said, is necessary because of the state's 1874 constitution. Malone said there always seems to be some crisis the state has to deal with because of the constitution, and currently, only three issues can be placed on the ballot by the assembly at one time.

Ross agrees, saying while the old constitution serves its purpose, there are issues which did not exist in 1874 being dealt with now.

However, Amendment 3 does not limit, in any way other than by ballot title, the number of issues the private sector can place on a ballot during a general election.