Numbers Needed for FOIA Petition Signature Gatherers…
For those of you gathering signatures on the FOIA petitions, this email contains important information to help every Arkansan
— including the number of petition signatures needed in each county.
Here in Arkansas, we, the people, still have the power to initiate
constitutional amendments and state statutes, or acts.
We need to take action and not leave the power in the hands of politicians!
Sadly, American rights are being eroded all across the country, and some states no longer allow the people the right to make a constitutional amendment possible.
It can only be done by a referral from their state legislature. That means some state governments are removing power from the people!
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First, please see this video short of Joey McCutchen, advocate for transparency in government. He says,
“Like you, I care about my kids’ and grandkids’ futures.
Do you value your right to know if public schools are indoctrinating our school children?
Are you tired of government hiding records and having secret meetings?
Help us by signing petitions to strengthen our right to know.
Click on this link to learn more and take action.” www.arcitizens4transparency.org
Our constitutional amendment creates a constitutional right to government transparency AND is defined as “the government’s obligation to share information with citizens or to deliver information to citizens”. However, it does require voter approval in November for laws concerning government transparency.
For a state constitutional amendment to be put on the ballot in November 2024, there is a new requirement (thanks to the updated 2023 law by Arkansas legislators) of 90,704 total signatures for the Amendment and 72,563 for the Act in at least 50 counties.
- Click here to read the entire Constitutional Amendment.
- Click here to read the entire Initiated Act.
Signature requirements in Arkansas differ between statutory initiatives, constitutional amendments and veto referendums. For an initiated constitutional amendment, signatures equal to at least 10 percent of the total number of votes cast for the office of governor in the last gubernatorial election are required. For an initiated state statute, signatures equal to at least 8 percent of this total are required. For veto referendums, signatures equal to at least 6 percent of this total are required.
The chart below is also from Ballotpedia. Do you notice how the Arkansas legislature has been making it harder over the years to initiate an Act or Amendment that could be submitted by we, the people?!
| Year | Amendment | Statute | Veto Referendum |
| 2024 | 90,704 | 72,563 | 54,422 |
| 2022 | 89,151 | 71,321 | 53,491 |
| 2020 | 89,151 | 71,321 | 53,491 |
| 2018 | 84,859 | 67,887 | 50,916 |
| 2016 | 84,859 | 67,887 | 50,916 |
| 2014 | 78,133 | 62,507 | 46,880 |
| 2012 | 78,133 | 62,507 | 46,880 |
| 2010 | 77,468 | 61,974 | 46,481 |
| 2008 | 77,468 | 61,974 | 46,481 |
See the info below for the minimum number of petition signatures required in particular counties in Arkansas. The numbers listed below are for the Amendment.
However, we need to strive to obtain at least 25% more than these numbers for both petitions — the Amendment and the Act — because some signatures may be thrown out by the Secretary of State for various reasons.
| Arkansas 832 |
Cleburne 1,862 |
Faulkner 7,471 |
Jackson 749 |
Marion 941 |
Poinsett 1,028 |
Sharp 1,119 |
| Ashley 1,013 |
Cleveland 523 |
Franklin 1,008 |
Jefferson 3,230 |
Miller 2,088 |
Polk 1,278 |
St. Francis 939 |
| Baxter 2,900 |
Columbia 1,128 |
Fulton 737 |
Johnson 1,293 |
Mississippi 1,604 |
Pope 3,265 |
Stone 947 |
| Benton 16,646 |
Conway 1,247 |
Garland 6,171 |
Lafayette 367 |
Monroe 417 |
Prairie 495 |
Union 2,167 |
| Boone 2,361 |
Craighead 5,126 |
Grant 1,165 |
Lawrence 862 |
Montgomery 578 |
Pulaski 22,889 |
Van Buren 1,162 |
| Bradley 489 |
Crawford 3,326 |
Greene 2,143 |
Lee 363 |
Nevada 456 |
Randolph 991 |
Washington 13,072 |
| Calhoun 293 |
Crittenden 1,993 |
Hempstead 867 |
Lincoln 515 |
Newton 571 |
Saline 7,995 |
White 4,282 |
| Carroll 1,670 |
Cross 1,806 |
Hot Spring 1,839 |
Little River 708 |
Ouachita 1,302 |
Scott 549 |
Woodruff 389 |
| Chicot 632 |
Dallas 388 |
Howard 675 |
Logan 1,160 |
Perry 702 |
Searcy 587 |
Yell 978 |
| Clark 1,141 |
Desha 576 |
Independence 1,958 |
Lonoke 4,141 |
Phillips 810 |
Sebastian 6,358 |
|
| Clay 732 |
Drew 986 |
Izard 850 |
Madison 1,076 |
Pike 691 |
Sevier 680 |
Shown below is a map of the counties in Arkansas.
Here are some rodeos in May. You could gather signatures there, as they’re public events.
By the way, there’s an AFR Rodeo in Yellville/ Summit this Friday and Saturday, May 10th & 11th.
Address: Marion County Fairgrounds, 513 E Seawell Ave, Summit, AR 72677. Starts at 7:30 pm! Bring a clipboard and go!
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You can also check out https://www.arkansas.com/events for many different types of events in Arkansas.
Go with someone to gather signatures! Bring a friend or family member.
And be bold when you go into the newspaper offices to ask for petitions. So, don’t be shy, and get as many as you need! Always get extra in case you recruit a friend or two to help you gather signatures.
We are all in this battle for FREEDOM together.
Just a reminder: do NOT put people that live in different counties on the same petition page. For example, people registered to vote in Marion County will sign a petition page marked “MARION”. But if a registered voter from another county wants to sign it, pull out a clean petition page, mark it with their county, and have them sign & complete the info. That’s why you ALWAYS need extra petitions, so keep some handy, especially at a rodeo or a big, public event! You’ll run into people from many different counties there.
Note: The signatures on the FOIA petitions must be submitted four months prior to the election at which the measure is to appear and that will be Tuesday, November 5, 2024, so July 5th is the deadline, and we will turn in the petitions to John Thurston, Secretary of State, IF we get the required amount of signatures needed.
In closing, if you’ve made it to the end of this alert, PLEASE pick up some petitions and get your family, friends, and co-workers to sign them. (There are 2 FOIA petitions: have them sign the Amendment AND the Act.) Many of us can have 10 people sign.
Remember, you cannot sign your own petitions, but you can sign someone else’s.
And you do NOT need to be a resident of Arkansas to gather signatures in Arkansas, but you DO need to be a registered Arkansas voter to sign petitions.
Many newspaper offices across the state are serving as petition hubs for the FOIA petitions. You can pick up petitions at any of these locations.
Once petitions are full of signatures and notarized, they should be returned to the location where they were picked up — or contact us, and we will get them from you, especially if you have a large amount.
Click here for the petition hub locations by county.
To learn more, you can contact:
Joey McCutchen
479-806-4878
Secure Arkansas is also here for you, too:
Call us at 501-250-6474
Remember to share our articles with your family, friends, coworkers, neighbors, and your sphere of influence! Thank you.
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