Can the Arkansas AG certify a popular name and ballot title for an initiative petition without the sponsor submitting the full text?
Plain-English summary
Bill Kopsky, on behalf of For AR Kids, asked the AG to certify a popular name and ballot title for a proposed amendment to Article 14 of the Arkansas Constitution titled "The Arkansas Educational Rights Amendment of 2026." The submission included the proposed popular name and ballot title in both English and Spanish, but no text for the amendment itself.
The AG returned the submission. A.C.A. § 7-9-107(a)-(b)(1) requires the sponsor to "submit the original draft" of the proposed measure, including "the full text of the proposed measure." Without the full text, the AG cannot determine whether the popular name and ballot title accurately and impartially summarize what voters would be approving. So the certification process never starts.
The AG also flagged a second procedural issue. A.C.A. § 7-9-107(b)(2)-(3) provides that the sponsor's original draft "shall include … a ballot title" and "a popular name." The Arkansas Supreme Court (Cowles v. Thurston, citing Cherokee Nation Bus.) reads "a" as singular. Submitting two of each (one English, one Spanish) was a procedural irregularity, though the AG noted he could correct that one by substituting and certifying a single popular name and ballot title.
The AG made clear that this rejection was procedural, not substantive. Whether to certify a ballot title is unrelated to the merits of the proposed amendment.
What this means for you
If you are an initiative sponsor preparing a submission
Submit three things together: the full text of your proposed amendment, the popular name, and the ballot title. Use one of each. Do not submit translations as additional popular names or ballot titles; those are extra material the AG cannot certify in tandem with the original.
If you have already drafted the popular name and ballot title and want pre-submission feedback, the cleanest approach is to attach a working draft of the amendment text, even if you intend to refine it. Without text, the AG cannot do the comparison the statute requires.
If you advise initiative sponsors
The "procedural irregularity" line in this opinion echoes earlier AG opinions (2007-172, 2013-010) that have rejected text-less submissions. The doctrine here is settled. A second procedural pitfall is the "a" rule from Cowles v. Thurston (2024) and Cherokee Nation Bus. (2023): the AG can certify only a single popular name and a single ballot title per submission. Bilingual or multilingual outreach materials are fine for canvassing, but the official submission can only carry one of each.
If you are tracking ballot measures
This opinion is part of a sequence. The earlier Opinion No. 2024-033 had reviewed an earlier version of the AR Kids proposal. After this 2024-076 rejection for missing text, the same sponsor returned with a complete submission and the AG certified it in Opinion No. 2024-079.
Common questions
Q: Why does the AG need the full text?
A: Because the AG's certification job is to confirm that the popular name and ballot title accurately and impartially summarize what voters would be approving. Without the text, there is nothing to compare the title against. A.C.A. § 7-9-107(a)-(b)(1) makes the full text a mandatory part of the original draft.
Q: Does the AG ever consider the merits of the proposed amendment?
A: No. The AG opinion is explicit: "My decision to certify or reject a popular name and ballot title is unrelated to my view of the proposed measure's merits."
Q: Can the AG fix a missing-text submission by adding text?
A: No. The AG can substitute a popular name or ballot title under A.C.A. § 7-9-107(d)(1), but cannot supply the underlying amendment text. That has to come from the sponsor.
Q: Can I submit two popular names so the AG can pick the better one?
A: No. Under Cowles v. Thurston (2024), "a" is singular, so the sponsor submits one popular name and one ballot title. The AG can substitute a corrected version, but cannot pick from competing sponsor versions.
Q: What if I want my materials in Spanish for canvassing?
A: Canvassing and outreach materials are not part of the official submission to the AG. You can prepare bilingual materials separately. Only the original draft submitted under A.C.A. § 7-9-107 needs to follow the one-popular-name, one-ballot-title rule.
Q: How long do I have to fix the missing text and refile?
A: The opinion does not give a specific timeline. The sponsor here refiled within weeks (Opinion No. 2024-079, Sept. 19, 2024). For deadlines tied to the next general election, consult the Arkansas Secretary of State's published deadlines.
Background and statutory framework
A.C.A. § 7-9-107 sets the procedure for AG review of proposed initiated acts and constitutional amendments. The sponsor's "original draft" must include:
- the full text of the proposed measure (subsection (a)-(b)(1));
- a ballot title (subsection (b)(2));
- a popular name (subsection (b)(3)).
The AG then either certifies the popular name and ballot title as submitted, substitutes corrected versions and certifies those (subsection (d)(1)), or returns the submission with deficiencies explained.
The opinion's analysis turns on the statutory text and prior AG opinions construing it. AG Opinion 2007-172 had rejected an earlier text-less submission with the same "procedural irregularities" framing, and AG Opinion 2013-010 was to the same effect. The "a" rule in subsections (b)(2)-(3) and (d)(1) traces to Cowles v. Thurston, 2024 Ark. 121, citing Cherokee Nation Bus., LLC v. Gulfside Casino P'ship, 2023 Ark. 153, both of which read "a" as a singular indefinite article.
Citations and references
Statutes:
- A.C.A. § 7-9-107: AG review of proposed amendments and ballot titles
Cases and prior AG opinions:
- Cowles v. Thurston, 2024 Ark. 121, "a" is singular
- Cherokee Nation Bus., LLC v. Gulfside Casino P'ship, 2023 Ark. 153, same
- Ark. Att'y Gen. Ops. 2024-033, 2023-131, 2007-172, 2013-010, 96-313
Source
Original opinion text
Opinion No. 2024-076
August 29, 2024
Mr. Bill Kopsky
For AR Kids
1308 West Second Street
Little Rock, Arkansas 72201
Dear Mr. Kopsky:
I am writing in response to your request, made under A.C.A. § 7-9-107, that I certify the popular name and ballot title for a proposed constitutional amendment. In Attorney General Opinion No. 2024-033, I reviewed the full text, popular name, and ballot title of a proposed measure that you submitted, and I substituted and certified the popular name and ballot title.
This time, you have submitted two popular names and two ballot titles. But you have not submitted any text for your proposed amendment.
My decision to certify or reject a popular name and ballot title is unrelated to my view of the proposed measure's merits. I am not authorized to consider the measure's merits when considering certification.
- Request. Under A.C.A. § 7-9-107, you have asked me to certify the following popular names and ballot titles for a proposed amendment to the Arkansas Constitution:
Popular Name: The Arkansas Educational Rights Amendment of 2026
Ballot Title: An amendment to Article 14 (Education) of the Arkansas constitution requiring identical academic standards and identical standards for accreditation, including assessments of students and schools based on such standards, for any school that receives State or local funds; defining "receives, or in receipt of, any State or local funds"; denying State or local funds to any non-public school that fails to meet the same academic standards, standards for accreditation, or assessment requirements as public schools; expanding the State's obligation to ever maintain a general, suitable, and efficient system of free public schools; defining an adequate education; requiring the General Assembly to enact legislation to implement this amendment; forbidding the General Assembly from amending, altering, or repealing this amendment absent a vote of the people; and providing that this amendment's provisions are severable.
The second popular name and ballot title were Spanish translations of the English versions above.
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Rules governing my review. In Opinion No. 2023-131, I explained the rules governing popular names and ballot titles, and I also explained the rules governing my review of the full text of a proposed measure. Rather than repeat those explanations, I incorporate them here by reference. In short, A.C.A. § 7-9-107 requires you to "submit the original draft" of your proposed amendment, which "shall include…[t]he full text of the proposed measure." As my predecessors have opined, when a sponsor "fail[s] to submit the text of the proposed constitutional amendment," "[i]t is impossible for me to determine whether your proposed [popular name] and ballot title" are misleading.
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Application. Your submission suffers from what my predecessors have repeatedly called "procedural irregularities": you did not submit any text for your proposed amendment. Thus, I cannot certify your proposed popular name and ballot title.
When conducting my statutorily required review under A.C.A. § 7-9-107, I am required to determine whether the popular name and ballot title accurately and impartially summarize the text of the proposed measure. Thus, a failure to submit the proposed amendment's full text in compliance with A.C.A. § 7-9-107 makes it impossible for me to determine whether your proposed popular name and ballot title are misleading. "I must therefore return your submission and instruct you to submit the [full text] of your proposed amendment together with a proposed popular name and ballot title."
Also, under A.C.A. § 7-9-107(b)(2)-(3) the sponsor may only submit one popular name and one ballot title. You, however, have submitted two popular names and two ballot titles, one of each in English and the other in Spanish. Although this procedural irregularity is not fatal because I can correct it by substituting and certifying a popular name and ballot title, I note for you that I will only be able to certify one popular name and one ballot title.
Assistant Attorney General Jodie Keener prepared this opinion, which I hereby approve.
Sincerely,
TIM GRIFFIN
Attorney General