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 210
4
5 By: Senator K. Hammer
6 By: Representative Underwood
7
8 For An Act To Be Entitled
9 AN ACT TO CREATE THE REQUIRE EXAMINING OF
10 AUTHORITATIVE DOCUMENTS ACT; TO AMEND THE LAW
11 CONCERNING INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM PETITIONS; TO
12 REQUIRE THE SIGNER TO READ THE BALLOT TITLE OF THE
13 PETITION IN THE PRESENCE OF A CANVASSER; TO DECLARE
14 AN EMERGENCY; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
15
16
17 Subtitle
18 TO REQUIRE THE SIGNER TO READ THE BALLOT
19 TITLE OF THE PETITION IN THE PRESENCE OF
20 A CANVASSER; AND TO DECLARE AN
21 EMERGENCY.
22
23 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS:
24
25 SECTION 1. DO NOT CODIFY. Title.
26 This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Require Examining of
27 Authoritative Documents Act".
28
29 SECTION 2. Arkansas Code � 7-9-103(a)(1)(A), concerning the signing of
30 initiative and referendum petitions, is amended to read as follows:
31 (a)(1)(A) A After reading the ballot title of the petition in the
32 presence of the canvasser or having the ballot title of the petition read
33 aloud to him or her in the presence of the canvasser, a person who is a
34 registered voter of this state may sign his or her own name and print his or
35 her own name, address, birth date, and the date of signing on an initiative
36 or referendum petition in his or her own proper handwriting, and not
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SB210
1 otherwise, to order an initiative or referendum vote upon a proposed
2 amendment or a proposed or referred act.
3
4 SECTION 3. Arkansas Code � 7-9-103(c), concerning misdemeanor offenses
5 for a person acting as a canvasser, notary, sponsor, or agent of a sponsor,
6 is amended to add an additional subdivision to read as follows:
7 (10) As a canvasser, knowingly accepts a signature when the
8 person signing the petition has not read the ballot title of the petition in
9 the presence of the canvasser or the ballot title of the petition has not
10 been read aloud to the person in the presence of the canvasser.
11
12 SECTION 4. Arkansas Code � 7-9-109(a) is amended to read as follows:
13 (a) Each petition containing signatures shall be verified in
14 substantially the following form by the canvasser's affidavit thereon as a
15 part thereof: "State of Arkansas
16 County of _____________
17 I, (print name of canvasser), being duly sworn, state that each of the
18 foregoing persons signed his or her own name to this sheet of the petition in
19 my presence. To the best of my knowledge and belief, each signature is
20 genuine and each signer is a registered voter of the State of Arkansas,
21 _____________ County, or City or Incorporated Town of _____________. At all
22 times during the circulation of this signature sheet, an exact copy of the
23 popular name, ballot title, and text was attached to the signature sheet, and
24 each signer read the ballot title of the petition or had the ballot title of
25 the petition read to the signer in my presence. My current residence address
26 is correctly stated below.
27 Signature _____________
28 Current residence _____________
29 Indicate one: _____________ Paid Canvasser _____________
30 Volunteer/Unpaid Canvasser
31 Subscribed and sworn to before me this _____________ day of
32 _____________, 20_____________
33 Signature _____________
34 Clerk, Notary, Judge, or J.P.
35 Seal _____________".
36
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SB210
1 SECTION 5. DO NOT CODIFY. SEVERABILITY. The provisions of this act
2 are declared to be severable and the invalidity of any provision of this act
3 shall not affect other provisions of the act which can be given effect
4 without the invalid provision.
5
6 SECTION 6. DO NOT CODIFY. EMERGENCY CLAUSE. It is found and
7 determined by the General Assembly of the State of Arkansas that the process
8 for citizens to propose initiated acts and amendments to the Arkansas
9 Constitution is critical to a well-functioning democracy in this state; that
10 it is of the utmost importance that the integrity of the initiative process
11 be strengthened through this act so that petitioners and voters maintain a
12 high degree of confidence in the soundness of their right to legislate as
13 citizens of Arkansas; and that this act is immediately necessary because any
14 delay in the implementation of this act would disrupt the initiative process
15 for the 2026 general election, which would have a detrimental effect on the
16 public peace, health, and safety of Arkansas. Therefore, an emergency is
17 declared to exist, and this act being immediately necessary for the
18 preservation of the public peace, health, and safety shall become effective
19 on:
20 (1) The date of its approval by the Governor;
21 (2) If the bill is neither approved nor vetoed by the Governor,
22 the expiration of the period of time during which the Governor may veto the
23 bill; or
24 (3) If the bill is vetoed by the Governor and the veto is
25 overridden, the date the last house overrides the veto.
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3 02/06/2025 9:18:51 AM SSS084Every fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record.