Three amendments to the Arkansas Constitution that were put on the ballot with the endorsement of the General Assembly were approved with strong support from voters Tuesday.
The first issue extends the terms of county executive officers -- such as sheriff and tax collector -- from two to four years. The proposal also changes the constitution's elections provisions to include a definition of "infamous" crimes and an elimination of uncontested races on future ballots.
The amendment's supporters in the Legislature described it as an "efficiency" bill, and it was endorsed in both chambers last year with little opposition.
With 2,228 of 2,534 precincts reporting, the unofficial returns were:
For 658,867
Against 277,677
Issue 2 removes a requirement that the governor relinquish powers when traveling outside the state. The original requirement dated to the Arkansas Constitution adopted in 1874. The resolution to place the amendment on the ballot was widely supported by the Legislature.
With 2,222 of 2,534 precincts reporting, the unofficial returns were:
For 688,139
Against 259,919
Issue 3 on the 2016 ballot calls for expanding an amendment that was previously approved by voters to allow the state to issue bonds for large economic-development projects. Issue 3 removes a cap on spending for bond-financed projects and removes several requirements restricting how local governments finance economic development.
With 2,222 of 2,534 precincts reporting, the unofficial returns were:
For 608,719
Against 320,753
During each biennial session of the General Assembly, Article 19, Section 22, of the state constitution allows lawmakers to pass resolutions to have up to three constitutional amendments appear on statewide ballots the following year.
Constitutional amendments and initiated acts may also be placed on the ballot by citizens groups that solicit petitions to gather a minimum number of signatures from registered voters across the state. Four such proposals were certified by Secretary of State Mark Martin and were printed on election ballots this year, but court challenges disqualified all but one: Issue 6, an amendment to legalize medical marijuana.
Before three of the four citizen-driven issues were disqualified, groups on both sides of the marijuana, casino and so-called tort-reform proposals spent more than $2.5 million in television advertising. By contrast, the three Legislature-sponsored amendments saw little ad spending, with the exception of Issue 3.
Jobs for Arkansas, a ballot committee set up to support Issue 3, reported spending more than $300,000 in advertising.
"The state as a whole knows communities need to have a seat at the table when it comes to economic development," said state Sen. Jon Woods, R-Springdale, who sponsored the resolution to endorse Issue 3.
State Rep. Jack Ladyman, R-Jonesboro, sponsored Issue 1. Sen. Eddie Joe Williams, R-Cabot, sponsored Issue 2.
"It was long overdue. I think the voters educated themselves on the issue, and it just made sense in today's day and age," Williams said. Ladyman did not return calls Tuesday night.
Without the advertising blitz or media coverage seen in the presidential race or medical marijuana amendment, voters at the polls Tuesday said they had to do their own research.
"Social media has done a fantastic job of informing the voters of what the ballot measures do," Woods said.
Some voters said they relied on reading the descriptions of the amendments printed on ballots, and others said they simply left the issues blank.
"I had heard about [Issue 2], but I had heard very little about the others," said Chris Carroll, after leaving his polling site in Little Rock on Tuesday. "That's what I spent most of my time in the booth reading about."
Metro on 11/09/2016