The morning of February 11 dawned cold, grey, and raining. In hindsight, it predicted what was to come.
The Senate State Agencies and Governmental Affairs committee gaveled into session at 10AM, chaired by Senator Scott Flippo. Sens. Clarke Tucker, Bryan King, Dan Sullivan, John Payton, Jim Dotson, and Kim Hammer took their seats; Sen. Alan Clark had apparently caught the flu.
Outside, around forty protesters held signs, most of which referenced some variation of the state motto: Regnat Populus, the People Rule.
Unfortunately, five legislators subverted the people’s rule today, despite nearly 50 people showing up to speak on these bills.
Sen. Kim Hammer presented six bills, SB207-212. In another piece, we described the basics of these bills and why they’re bad for democracy, but here’s the summary: taken together, these six bills would make it nearly impossible for a grassroots group to get something placed on the ballot.
Through a combination of increased paperwork burdens, voter intimidation, and placing new requirements on volunteer canvassers — passionate citizens who take time off their day jobs, away from their families, ignoring their hobbies to lobby their fellow citizens for policies they hold dear — the legislative combo means that only groups who have the $15 million both sides of the casino debate spent get to put their issues in front of the voters.
The people only rule if they have millions of dollars.
Sen. Tucker skillfully pointed out that most of these bills were likely unconstitutional under one Constitutional provision or another. After all, the Constitution says “nothing should interfere with the power of the people to bring petitions” before their fellow citizens. Requiring photo ID, reading tests, and sworn statements seems like “interference” to me. Indeed, it sounds suspiciously like literacy tests, voter ID laws, and other historical methods of voter suppression, which conservative journalist Jimmie Cavin pointed out in his public testimony.
This did not matter.
Citizen after citizen testified that they felt their constitutional rights to direct democracy — one of the best things about this state — was under threat. They spoke about the difficulty of collecting signatures under current law. They described the connections they made with their fellow citizens as they canvassed. In short, they described how citizen-led ballot initiatives bridged political gaps and brought people together in an era of division.
This did not matter.
The people only rule if you’re Kim Hammer’s people. The people only rule if they’re supporting policies that Kim Hammer likes.
Indeed, the only testimony supporting Hammer’s bills — which you can read in our coverage here — all sounded suspiciously similar. He perhaps should have prepared his allies more; one witness testified that she had, in fact, voted on the Arkansas Abortion Amendment after being “tricked” into signing it.
Except, as we all know, the Arkansas Abortion Amendment never made the ballot.
This silliness, too, did not matter.
I call out Hammer more specifically than the other Yay votes here because Hammer may soon have these powers as the next Secretary of State; even if he doesn’t, someone like Cole Jester – the current SoS – will. Imagine being able to give yourself more power to control the democratic process of an entire state. That’s what Hammer is doing.
I would not want any Secretary, regardless of party, to be able to investigate volunteer canvassers for making mistakes. I would not want any Secretary of State, regardless of party, to be able to compel documents or testimony from grassroots groups that seek to influence the policies that govern them.
It is a transparent power grab from Senator Hammer, who subscribes to a religion that famously said “The last shall be first, and the first shall be last” and blessed the meek and poor in spirit. There is no other way to describe it.
But let us not let the majority of the committee off the hook; Sens. Tucker and King were the only ones to vote against most of the other bills. Payton only voted against SB212.
Here’s what’s telling: the legislature also has the power to put constitutional amendments in front of the people. With this current power grab, they’ve continued their systematic strangling of the citizen initiative process, despite the fact voters routinely reject their amendments while approving the few citizen initiatives that survive these draconian restrictions.
The citizen-initiative process brought us a higher minimum wage. It brought us medical marijuana laws.
Meanwhile, the legislature used this process to try and increase the number of signatures needed to place something on the ballot – in another direct contravention of the Constitution – and when voters resoundingly shot that down, they… did it anyway.
Do you see how afraid they are of you and your power at the ballot box, Arkansas? Do you see how afraid of the state motto – the People Rule – they are?
Kim Hammer refused to look witnesses in the eye today if they were testifying against his bills. He said, over and over again, that he did not trust voters in Arkansas to read petitions for themselves. He did not trust them to make decisions at the ballot box.
He is a small, cowardly man. The men who voted for his bills are equally cowardly. Nothing showcases this more than their decision to limit testimony to about 20% of the total citizens who showed up to work.
John Payton wanted to go to lunch, you see.
But Arkansas, this is not over just yet; there are at least three more steps before these bills head to the Governor’s desk.
So lest I leave you with despair, here’s your action steps. This is merely the first battle in the war for our rights.
First, keep calling your Senator at 501-682-2902. The full Senate will vote on these bills later this week. If you call this number, the legislative assistant will take your name, your Senator’s name, and the way you are asking them to vote and let them know they received a call asking them to vote a certain way.
Here’s your script: “Hello, my name is Sam Watson, and I’m asking my Senator, (Senator’s name), to vote against SB207-211 and protect my constitutional right to direct democracy.” That’s it! Your call will be recorded and passed along to the Senator. Volume is key here; the more calls they get, the more they have to take their constituents seriously.
If you’re feeling particularly brave – and I encourage you to be brave – you can try and call your Senator here. Many Senators have personal contact info listed, and though you may need to be prepared to have more of a conversation, it’s still worth soliciting them directly. Most won’t bite!
Second, the next step will be the House State Agencies committee. The committee members are listed here. If you’d like to call any of them directly, you can do so. The general number is 501-682-6211, and your script is the same: “Hello, my name is Sam Watson, and I’m asking my representative, (Representative’s name), to vote against SB207-211 and protect my constitutional right to direct democracy.”
Finally, the bills will hit the House floor. Again, volume is key. We want to tie up the House’s phone lines! We want them to know that people care about this issue, that people will remember their vote, and that we will not forgive their vote against democracy and the Constitution.
Today, the worst impulses of ArLeg were on full display.
But the best of Arkansas showed itself, too – her people.
They showed up to defend their rights. They showed up to defend each other. They showed up to try and hold their legislature to account.
The best of Arkansas was present in that room, and it wasn’t sitting where Kim Hammer was sitting.
It was sitting out in the crowd with the people.
