This article was written by Daniel Nichanian founder and editor-in-chief of Bolts. Here is an extract:

Republican politicians in Arkansas were seething three years ago over progressive initiatives that legalized medical marijuana and increased the minimum wage, so they proposed amending the state constitution to make it harder for residents to place measures on the ballot. Voters responded with a resounding no, rejecting Issue 3 by double-digits in November 2020.

But that didn’t stop Arkansas Republicans, who this month pushed through those same stricter ballot measure rules that voters rebuffed in 2020. This time, lawmakers simply packaged their proposal into a regular bill, which sidesteps another referendum to amend the state constitution, and Republican Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed it into law on March 7.

“I think the ultimate goal is to make it harder for citizens to challenge what their government does,” Senator Bryan King, who opposed House Bill 1419, told Bolts. 

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