House approves sworn affidavit for canvassers of initiative petitions amid debate over possible chilling effect

The Arkansas House of Representatives on Feb. 25, 2025, approved Senate Bill 211, a measure that requires canvassers who collect signatures for statewide initiative and referendum petitions to submit a sworn affidavit certifying they complied with Arkansas law. The bill passed on a roll call of 65 yays, 27 nays and 3 present; the House later approved the bill's emergency clause by a separate vote of 69 yays, 26 nays and 2 present.

Supporters said the affidavit is intended to reduce fraudulent or improper signature collection and to hold canvassers accountable. Representative Underwood, who explained the bill on the House floor, said the requirement is a routine legal safeguard: "I don't think there's any chilling effect here... I think it's a pretty reasonable step for a canvasser to sign an affidavit. We do this all the time in the law that you sign something that states that, what you've done is true and accurate." He and other backers told members the change responds to committee testimony about duplicate and fraudulent signatures in prior petition drives.

Opponents argued the new affidavit could sweep away valid signatures if a canvasser is later found to have violated any related law. Representative Collins, speaking against the bill, said the package of petition-related measures "ultimately all go at chilling the ability of people to participate in direct democracy," and cautioned that a canvasser's misconduct could lead to otherwise-valid signatures being discarded.

The bill requires that, after the signatures are collected, the canvasser submit a post-collection sworn statement that the canvasser complied with Arkansas laws governing canvassing and related criminal provisions. During floor debate members asked whether the affidavit would replace the existing pre-collection training affidavit or be in addition to it; Representative Underwood said the new affidavit is an additional, back-end certification confirming compliance.

Committee testimony and the bill's proponents cited prior petition drives that included duplicate signatures as a rationale for tighter verification. The House debate also recorded questions about whether the requirement applies to local initiatives; Representative Underwood said it covers statewide initiative and referendum petitions, not county-only petitions. The transcript records committee discussion and multiple members' concerns before the final votes.

The House vote recorded counts but did not list individual member votes in the floor transcript. The transcript shows the measure passed and that the House also approved the emergency clause; further steps (such as gubernatorial action or administrative implementation) are not specified in the House floor transcript.