Shown verbatim: the complete text as captured from the official PDF posted by the Arkansas General Assembly, fetched 2026-07-23. Page and line markers are part of the official record; nothing is edited or removed. The official bill page.
Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
1 State of Arkansas A Bill
2 95th General Assembly
3 Regular Session, 2025 SENATE BILL 102
4
5 By: Senator B. Davis
6 By: Representative Vaught
7
8 For An Act To Be Entitled
9 AN ACT TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING CANVASSERS FOR
10 LOCAL OPTION ELECTIONS; TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING
11 COMPENSATION OF PAID CANVASSERS FOR LOCAL OPTION
12 ELECTIONS; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
13
14
15 Subtitle
16 TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING CANVASSERS
17 FOR LOCAL OPTION ELECTIONS; AND TO AMEND
18 THE LAW CONCERNING COMPENSATION OF PAID
19 CANVASSERS FOR LOCAL OPTION ELECTIONS.
20
21 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS:
22
23 SECTION 1. Arkansas Code � 3-8-801(3), concerning the definition of
24 "paid canvasser" in local option elections, is amended to read as follows:
25 (3) "Paid canvasser" means a person who is paid or with whom
26 there is an agreement to pay money or anything of value before or after a
27 signature on a local option election petition is solicited in exchange for
28 soliciting or obtaining a signature on a petition;
29
30 SECTION 2. Arkansas Code � 3-8-802 is amended to read as follows:
31 3-8-802. Hiring and training of paid canvassers.
32 (a)(1) A person shall not provide money or anything of value to
33 another person for obtaining signatures on a local option election petition
34 unless the person receiving the money or item of value meets the requirements
35 of this section.
36 (2) Before a signature is solicited by a paid canvasser, the
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1 sponsor shall:
2 (A) Explain the Arkansas law applicable to obtaining
3 signatures on a local option election petition to the canvasser; and
4 (B)(i) Provide a complete list of all paid canvassers'
5 names and current residential addresses to the county clerk.
6 (ii) If additional paid canvassers agree to solicit
7 signatures on behalf of a sponsor after the complete list is provided, the
8 sponsor shall provide an updated list of all paid canvassers' names and
9 current residential addresses to the county clerk.;
10 (C) Submit to the county clerk a copy of the signed
11 statement provided by the paid canvasser under subdivision (c)(3) of this
12 section;
13 (D) Instruct the paid canvasser to provide the sponsor
14 sufficient information of the paid canvasser's identity to allow the sponsor
15 to obtain the criminal history and criminal record of the paid canvasser
16 within thirty (30) days before the date that the paid canvasser begins
17 collecting signatures;
18 (E) Obtain the criminal history and criminal record of the
19 paid canvasser; and
20 (F) Contact the appropriate authority in the state or
21 jurisdiction if a paid canvasser's criminal history and criminal record
22 indicate an open or pending criminal charge that constitutes a disqualifying
23 offense to determine the ultimate disposition or current status of the
24 charge.
25 (3) Upon filing the petition with the county clerk, the sponsor
26 shall submit to the county clerk a:
27 (A) Final list of the names and current residential
28 addresses of each paid canvasser; and
29 (B) Signature card for each paid canvasser.
30 (b)(1) To verify that there are no disqualifying offenses on record, a
31 sponsor shall obtain, at the sponsor's cost, from the Division of Arkansas
32 State Police, a current state criminal history and criminal record search on
33 every paid canvasser to be registered with the county clerk.
34 (2) The criminal history and criminal record search required by
35 this section shall be obtained within thirty (30) days before the date that
36 the paid canvasser begins collecting signatures.
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1 (3) Upon submission of the sponsor's list of paid canvassers to
2 the county clerk, the sponsor shall certify to the county clerk that each
3 paid canvasser in the sponsor's employ has no disqualifying offenses in
4 accordance with this section.
5 (4) A willful violation of this section by a sponsor or paid
6 canvasser constitutes a Class A misdemeanor.
7 (5) The sponsor shall bear the ultimate burden of proving that a
8 paid canvasser registered by the sponsor does not have a disqualifying
9 offense in an administrative proceeding or judicial proceeding.
10 (c) Before obtaining a signature on a local option election petition
11 as a paid canvasser, a person shall submit in person or by mail to the
12 sponsor:
13 (1) The full name and any assumed name of the person;
14 (2) The current residence address of the person and the person's
15 permanent domicile address if the person's permanent domicile address is
16 different from the person's current residence address;
17 (3) A signed statement taken under oath or solemn affirmation
18 that states that the person has not pleaded guilty or nolo contendere to or
19 been found guilty of a criminal offense involving a violation of the election
20 laws, fraud, forgery, or identification theft in any state disqualifying
21 offense under � 7-9-601(d)(3)(B) in any state of the United States, District
22 of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, or any other United States protectorate;
23 (4) A signed statement that the person has read and understands
24 the Arkansas law applicable to obtaining signatures on a local option
25 election petition; and
26 (5) A photograph of the person taken within ninety (90) days of
27 the submission of the information required under this section.
28 (c)(d) A sponsor shall maintain the information required under this
29 section for each paid canvasser for three (3) years after the general
30 election.
31 (e) Signatures incorrectly obtained or submitted under this section
32 shall not be counted by the county clerk for any purpose.
33 (f)(1) It is unlawful for a person to pay or offer to pay a person, or
34 receive payment or agree to receive payment, on a basis related to the number
35 of signatures obtained on a local option petition.
36 (2) This subsection does not prohibit compensation for
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1 circulating petitions but only compensation for obtaining signatures when the
2 compensation or compensation level is impacted by or related to the number of
3 signatures obtained.
4 (3) A signature obtained in violation of this subsection is void
5 and shall not be counted.
6 (4) A violation under this subsection is a Class A misdemeanor.
7
8 SECTION 3. Arkansas Code � 3-8-805(a), concerning signatures for local
9 option petitions, is amended to add additional subdivisions to read as
10 follows:
11 (4) A person shall not act as a canvasser unless he or she is a
12 citizen of the United States.
13 (5) A person shall not act as a canvasser unless he or she is a
14 resident of this state.
15
16 SECTION 4. Arkansas Code � 3-8-806(d)(1), concerning form of
17 initiative petitions and sufficiency of signatures, is amended to read as
18 follows:
19 (d)(1) The signature section of the petition shall be formatted as
20 prescribed by the county clerk and shall contain the same number of signature
21 lines prescribed by the county clerk Secretary of State for statewide
22 petitions under � 7-9-104.
23
24 SECTION 5. Arkansas Code � 3-8-808, concerning the affidavits for
25 canvassers of local option elections, is amended to add additional
26 subsections to read as follows:
27 (e) A canvasser who witnesses signatures on a petition part but
28 knowingly allows another canvasser who did not witness all signatures on a
29 petition part to execute a false verification affidavit with respect to that
30 petition part commits a Class D felony.
31 (f) A sponsor, sponsor's agent, or representative commits a Class D
32 felony if a sponsor, sponsor's agent, or representative:
33 (1) Knowingly pays a canvasser for petition signatures on a
34 petition part not personally witnessed by that paid canvasser; or
35 (2) Knowingly submits to the county clerk a petition part where
36 the verifying canvasser has not witnessed each signature on that petition
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1 part.
2
3 SECTION 6. Arkansas Code � 3-8-811(b)(2)-(3), concerning when a
4 petition part and signatures will not be counted, are amended to read as
5 follows:
6 (2) The petition lacks the signature, printed name, and
7 residence address of the canvasser, is signed by a canvasser who does not
8 meet the canvasser requirements of � 3-8-805(a), or is signed by more than
9 one (1) canvasser;
10 (3)(A) The canvasser is a paid canvasser who does not meet the
11 paid canvasser requirements of � 3-8-802 or whose name and the information
12 required under � 3-8-802 were not submitted by the sponsor to the county
13 clerk before the petitioner signed the petition.
14 (B) A canvasser is a paid canvasser if he or she is paid
15 money or anything of value for soliciting signatures before or after the
16 signatures are obtained;
17
18 SECTION 7. DO NOT CODIFY. Severability.
19 (a) All provisions of this act, including all sections, subsections,
20 and subdivisions, are severable and if any portion of this act is declared
21 invalid for any reason, then all remaining sections, subsections, and
22 subdivisions of this act shall remain in full effect.
23 (b) It is the intent of the General Assembly that the sections,
24 subsections, and subdivisions of this act are severable, notwithstanding
25 whether the act, section, sections, subsection, subsections, subdivision, or
26 subdivisions at issue are:
27 (1) Meant to accomplish a single purpose;
28 (2) Interrelated; or
29 (3) Dependent upon each other.
30
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5 01/23/2025 4:51:35 PM SSS029Every fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record.