About the Bill

SB209 | Sen. Kim Hammer and Rep. Kendon Underwood | Senate Committee on State Agencies & Governmental Affairs 
This bill would disqualify all signatures collected by a canvasser, including legitimate signatures, if a canvasser is found to have violated Arkansas law or the Arkansas Constitution while collecting signatures for a petition.

AACF Testimony on March 5, 2025, House Committee on State Agencies and Governmental Affairs

Rebecca Zimmermann, Community Engagement Director, Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families
Thank you, Mr. Chair and members of the committee. I am Rebecca Zimmermann, with Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families. And we believe that Arkansas families should have a say in major decisions that will impact their communities. That’s why we support the ballot measure process. And we ask you to please vote against SB 209.

Again, we believe Representative Underwood and Senator Hammer mean well with their package of bills. But, in reality, this bill will most likely harm the average Arkansan who participates in the ballot measure process with good intentions, no matter how perfectly they follow the law. With SB 209 we believe the old adage, “don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater” aptly applies here. The wrongdoing of a petitioner should not disqualify the legitimate signatures of voters. Instead, the Secretary of State’s office should thoroughly review and determine what signatures might be fraudulent, and which are legitimate, which they already do. And the canvasser who broke the law should be prosecuted, which they already can be. Punishing law abiding people for the crimes of others, is simply unfair. And, the way this bill is currently written, the voters have no way to cure their signatures, blocking them out of the signature process entirely.

Please punish the wrongdoer, not innocent community members who want to participate in the ballot measure process. We urge you to please vote against SB 209.