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Senate committee backs raising Arkansas presidential ballot petition requirement to 5,000 signatures
Summary
A Senate committee voted to advance HP 1338, a bill from Representative Lundstrom and Senator Bledsoe that would raise the statewide petition threshold for presidential candidates from 1,000 to 5,000 signatures. The Green Party opposed the change, citing increased costs for petitioning.
A Senate committee voted to advance HP 1338, a bill from Representative Lundstrom and Senator Bledsoe that would raise the number of signatures required for a presidential candidate to appear on Arkansas ballots from 1,000 to 5,000.
Representative Lundstrom told the committee the state law governing access to the presidential ballot has not been updated since the 1970s and that the bill ‘‘asks that we change that to 5,000 signatures’’ to ensure candidates meet a higher threshold. She compared the presidential requirement to other statewide offices, noting a recent Supreme Court candidate filing requirement of 10,000 signatures plus a fee.
Andrew Waldron, speaking for the Green Party of Arkansas, opposed the measure. ‘‘Signatures gathering is not a cheap process,’’ Waldron said, adding petitioning firms currently charge ‘‘about $3.5 per signature,’’ and warned the law would substantially raise the cost of mounting a petition drive.
Committee members clarified the proposal would leave the underlying nomination process unchanged, altering only the signature threshold. After closing remarks from the sponsors, Senator Hester moved to pass the bill and Senator English seconded; the committee recorded the ayes and advanced HP 1338 out of committee.
The committee did not record roll-call tallies in the transcript. The bill will continue through the regular legislative process for further consideration.
