For AR People is thrilled that the people of Arkansas joined together to defeat Issue 2 — a legislative referendum that would have endangered our right to direct democracy. This is an enormous win for Arkansans and our constitutional right to the ballot initiative process. Check out our coalition’s statement below.
Protect AR Rights celebrates the defeat of Issue 2 in last night’s midterm election as a major win for our freedom to make decisions through ballot initiatives in Arkansas.
The triumph is the result of months of planning, coalition building, and harnessing the power of Arkansans statewide, who generously gave thousands of hours of their time to protect a right that Arkansans have enjoyed for more than 100 years. In total, grassroots volunteers with Protect AR Rights sent 200,000 text messages, made 150,000 phone calls, knocked 30,000 doors and reached 500,000 Arkansans across social media to warn voters on the dangers of Issue 2.
The Protect AR Rights coalition began strategizing against Issue 2 to protect majority rule against the legislative-referred constitutional amendment that sought to eliminate the democratic principle of one person, one vote in Arkansas, allowing just 41 percent of voters to block important issues.
“We put an amazing campaign together — and it took all of us,” said Bill Kopsky, executive director of the Arkansas Public Policy Panel. “Today, because of volunteers and the campaign they ran, our core talking point remains true: Arkansans have the right and ability to make decisions on the issues that affect their lives, even when politicians won’t. Arkansas remains where the people rule.”
As Protect AR Rights celebrates last night’s win, our work is far from over. We will continue the fight to build power in Arkansas and protect citizen-initiated ballot measures from the politicians and wealthy special interests who seek to strip power from the people by rewriting the rules to get their way.
