Senate committee OKs bill making it a crime to destroy ballot petition signatures

(Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Thomas Metthe)
(Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Thomas Metthe)

The Senate Judiciary advanced a bill Wednesday to make it a crime to destroy signatures on a ballot petition.

Senate Bill 377 would make it a misdemeanor to destroy a signature, other than your own, on a ballot petition. The bill also states paying a person, or accepting money, to destroy ballot signatures also would count as a Class A misdemeanor.

The proposed legislation also would require paid signature blockers — people who attempt to stop someone from signing a petition — to register with the state. Under Arkansas law, paid canvassers have to pass a criminal background check with the Arkansas State Police.

The proposed legislation comes in response to a controversy stemming from a proposed constitutional amendment to drop Pope County as a state-licensed site for a casino. During Wednesday’s hearing, two paid canvassers who gathered signatures for the Pope County casino amendment said they were harassed and threatened by paid signature blockers.

One paid canvasser, Melissa Harris, said she was offered money to throw a signed petition into the trash. In August, Jeff Phillips, the prosecuting attorney in Russellville, investigated the allegation that an opponent of the amendment offered money to a canvasser to destroy a signed petition. After looking into the incident, Phillips said the state’s law on petition fraud is “silent” on the issue.

The constitutional amendment to remove Pope County’s casino license failed to make it onto the ballot in 2022.

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