BY: ANTOINETTE GRAJEDA-NOVEMBER 19, 2025 6:12 PM
A federal judge on Wednesday issued a preliminary injunction that blocks the enforcement of several direct democracy-related laws against Arkansas groups collecting signatures to qualify proposed ballot measures for the 2026 ballot.
The League of Women Voters of Arkansas and ballot question committee Save AR Democracy filed the original lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the laws against Secretary of State Cole Jester in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas in April.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks allowed two other ballot question committees, Protect AR Rights and For AR Kids, to intervene in the case in July. Both sets of plaintiffs filed motions for a preliminary injunction, and the court held a hearing on the motions in late September.
Opponents of the laws, which govern the state’s petition and referendum process, argue they make it too difficult for citizen-led initiatives to qualify for the ballot and violate the First Amendment. Supporters of the laws have said they help maintain the process’ integrity and avert fraud.
In Wednesday’s 77-page ruling, Brooks granted in part and denied in part the motions for a preliminary injunction. “Because the claim against him is moot,” Brooks also dismissed Attorney General Tim Griffin who intervened as a defendant in the case.
“We’re reviewing the order and considering our next steps,” Griffin’s spokesperson, Jeff LeMaster, said in a text message Wednesday evening.
Brooks preliminarily enjoined, pending a final disposition on the merits, the secretary of state, who is responsible for overseeing elections, and his officers from:
- Disclosing or facilitating disclosure to any member of the public any information provided by Plaintiffs or Intervenor-Plaintiffs pursuant to the Pre-Collection Disclosure Requirements of Arkansas Code § 7-9-601
- Enforcing Act 602 against Protect AR Rights, including by finding its petition insufficient based on the reading level of the petition’s ballot title
- Enforcing Act 241 and 453 against Plaintiffs, including by invalidating signatures, finding petitions insufficient, or pursuing criminal charges based on noncompliance
- Enforcing Acts 218, 240, and 274 against Plaintiffs or Intervenor-Plaintiffs, including by invalidating signatures, finding petitions insufficient, or pursuing criminal charges based on noncompliance.
“In the General Assembly’s book, high rates of signature invalidation under the existing, highly regulated petition validation system are only evidence that the system has failed, not that the system has worked,” Brooks wrote. “These high rates of invalidation are used to justify more regulation, which will inevitably result in even higher rates of invalidation, justifying even more regulation and steadily chipping away at the right to direct democracy enshrined in the Arkansas Constitution.”
Although the U.S. Constitution does not guarantee direct democracy, it does safeguard a person’s right to participate in public debate through politics, and many of the laws challenged in the lawsuit “likely infringe on this right,” Brooks wrote.
“We’re delighted that the judge agrees with us that these laws are unconstitutional on their face,” said Bill Kopsky, Protect AR Rights and For AR Kids treasurer. “We think we can prove that as the case goes on, and this gives us the ability to collect signatures without these unconstitutional laws preventing Arkansas citizens from exercising their rights.”
Brooks’ ruling blocks new state laws, for now, that prohibit ballot titles from being written above an eighth-grade reading level; require canvassers to file a “true affidavit” certifying they complied with the Arkansas Constitution and state laws related to petition signature procurement; and require paid canvassers to be permanent residents of Arkansas.
Additional laws subject to the injunction include two that require canvassers to inform potential signers that petition fraud is a criminal offense and request a photo ID from them, and one that requires potential signers to read a petition’s ballot title or have it read to them.
