On February 14, Arkansas SB 163 was sent to Governor Asa Hutchinson. It increases the number of signatures for a newly-qualifying party from 10,000 signatures, to 3% of the last gubernatorial vote, almost 27,000 signatures. In Arkansas, Governors only have five consecutive days after the bill reaches them to either sign or veto the bill, but Sundays and holidays don’t count, so he has until Thursday, February 21.
NO exec vetoes – a remnant of the DARK AGE.
TOTAL Separation of Powers.
Many Libertarians are on pins and needles waiting for a decision in the Governor’s office in Arkansas. This bill’s implementation would be the most blatant uses of force to deny access to the voting booth for third parties that I can remember. We missed status in the Governor’s race in Arkansas in 2018 by one-tenth of one percent (2.9 on 3.0 required)!! Our man was in the debates, which made it to CSPAN, and I saw him dress down both the Democrat and Republican candidates (deservedly so). This HB 163 is clearly payback. Evil law!
What happens if he neither signs nor vetoes the bill? Does it automatically become law? Or is it killed?
If the Governor does sign it, a lawsuit will be filed very soon. The same law was struck down in 1996 (3% of the last gubernatorial vote combined with a January petition deadline). In response, the legislature moved the party petition deadline to July, and said the petitioning period would be five months, and that if the petition was found to lack sufficient signatures, the group could have a few more weeks to get more signatures. But the 3% was not changed. A few years later the deadline was changed from July to May.
Then, in 2006, another lawsuit was filed, and again the law was held unconstitutional, and at that time the petition was due in May, so the law in 2006 was actually easier than the law that will exist if the bill is signed. So that is twice that the Arkansas 3% was thrown out. The state did not appeal either of those decisions. The legislature this month showed contempt for the federal judiciary.
Governors are free to let a bill become law without their signature, but Governors don’t do that very often.
The Exec HACKS love to give out pens used in signing zillions of bills.