Reformers submit signatures to put a measure to end gerrymandering on Arkansas' ballot this fall
newsdepo.com
Backers of putting an initiative on Arkansas' November ballot to create an independent redistricting commission have announced that they have filed 50,000 more signatures following a 30-day deadline extension by Arkansas' Supreme Court while it reviReformers submit signatures to put a measure to end gerrymandering on Arkansas' ballot this fall
Backers of putting an initiative on Arkansas' November ballot to create an independent redistricting commission have announced that they have filed 50,000 more signatures following a 30-day deadline extension by Arkansas' Supreme Court while it reviews supporters' appeal of GOP Secretary of State John Thurston's decision to reject all of their signatures as supposedly invalid. Thurston contends that signature-gatherers for this initiative and a separate one to adopt a form of instant-runoff voting had not «passed» background checks, even though the groups certified that they had «acquired» them. Redistricting reformers had already submitted nearly 100,000 signatures before the initial deadline earlier this summer, and combined with this latest tranche of signatures, they should have a sufficient cushion to ensure that at least 89,000 are valid statewide and are of a number equivalent to 5% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election in at least 15 of Arkansas' 75 counties—that is, if the state Supreme Court overturns Thurston's decision to reject all of their signatures in the first place. Read more