The Voter Approval Committee met again to redraft a proposed amendment to the Arkansas Constitution. The Voter Approval Committee is comprised of a citizens concerned about the lack of voter participation in certain tax elections. The committee is made up of, Republicans, Democrats and Independents, Businessmen and Retirees, interested in giving the voter a larger voice in matters concerning taxes levied by government at the state and local levels. “We wanted to be sure to include as many diverse views and opinions in our committee to ensure the amendment would honestly reflect the will of the majority of citizens of Arkansas”, said spokesman Tim Jacob.
Former Democrat Rep Mark Riable, attorney for the committee submitted the initial text for the ballot proposal. “We expected our first dra…ft to be rejected by the Attorney General Dustin McDaniel’s office” said Riable. We are already drafting the second version of the amendment that addresses the AG’s concerns. “We know that amending the Arkansas Constitution is a very serious matter and we want the people in Arkansas to be absolutely sure of the purpose and intent of this important amendment.
“This is not an “anti-tax” issue but rather a voter participation issue”, said Glenn Gallas, former Congressional candidate and leader of the Arkansas Taxpayer League. Tax elections can be currently schedule anytime as long as the requirements are met for such election. “The challenge to this method of initiating tax elections is that it lends itself to extremely low voter turnout. “Elections can only be representative of the will of the people when the voters participate”, said Gallas. Special elections can have turnouts of less than 10%. Elections held during regularly scheduled elections have turnouts of 35% to over 50%. Scheduling tax elections during elections that have higher voter turnouts will ensure the will of the people is properly represented. “What politician would not want the voice of the people to be heard through the ballot box, to be heard?, asks Gallas.