On March 3, the Arkansas Senate passed HB 1338 by a vote of 29-3. It raises the number of signatures for independent presidential candidates, and the presidential nominees of unqualified parties, from 1,000 signatures to 5,000.
The only three “no” votes were cast by Senators Joyce Elliott, Jim Hendren, and Clarke Tucker. Hendren is a Republican; the other two are Democrats.
State legislatures still working hard to make plurality voting work by banning third party and independent candidates.
ANY lawyers in AR land able to detect EQUAL in 14-1 Amdt ???
If they are going to require 5,000 signatures then they should make it so the minor party can run an entire slate of candidates for every partisan office then and for a few years.
Arkansas has a requirement for party ballot access where a party can run a slate of candidates, nominated via convention. That petition requires 10,000 valid signatures in 90 days