EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first in a series of seven articles on the seven proposed amendments to the Arkansas Constitution. These issues will be on the Nov. 8 General Election ballot. Information was provided by the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Research and Extension Public Policy Center.
Issue #1 is proposing an amendment to the Arkansas Constitution concerning elected officials; providing for terms of office for certain county officials for four years; providing that certain county officers shall not be appointed or elected to a civil office during their elected term; allowing a candidate for an office to be certified as elected without appearing on the ballot when he or she is the only candidate for the office at the election; and defining the term “infamous crime” for the purpose of determining the eligibility of elected officials to hold office.
This amendment asks voters to approve multiple changes to the Arkansas Constitution. If approved by voters, this amendment would:
Allow four-year terms for elected county officials.
Prevent certain elected county officials from also being appointed or elected to a civil office.
Allow unopposed candidates to be elected without their name appearing on the ballot; and
Define what “infamous crime” means in regards to who is not allowed to hold an elected position.
Arkansas legislators voted to put House Joint Resolution 1027, or Issue 1, on the 2016 general election ballot. Sponsoring this amendment were Reps. Jack Ladyman of Jonesboro and David Branscum of Marshall.
The following sections describe each of the four proposed changes included in this amendment:
•Section 1 provides for four-year terms for elected county officials. It would change the constitution to allow the following list of elected county officials to serve four years in office, instead of the current two-year terms: County judge, sheriff, circuit clerk, county clerk, assessor, coroner, treasurer, county surveyor, and tax collector.
These officials can currently run for re-election and there are no limits on the number of terms they can serve.
This amendment would not apply to justices of the peace, who represent different districts of a county on governing boards known as Quorum Courts. They would continue to serve two-year terms.
If approved, county officials elected in 2016 would continue to serve two-year terms. Four-year terms would start for people elected in the 2018 general election.
•Section 2 would prevent elected county officials from holding civil office. It would add to the constitution a section that says a person elected or appointed to the following county offices could not be appointed or elected to any other civil office in Arkansas at the same time: County judge, justice of the peace, sheriff, circuit clerk, county clerk, assessor, coroner, treasurer, county surveyor, and tax collector.
The amendment does not define “civil office.” The Arkansas Constitution already says senators and representatives can’t be appointed or elected to any civil office, but the constitution’s writers did not explain what they meant by the phrase.
The court system has helped define the phrase’s meaning over the years in rulings that found “civil office” to include:
•Positions that have the authority of the state to act.
•An office created by law within one of the three branches of government (legislative, executive and judicial).
•Any officer who holds an appointment under the government.
•An office created by law, with tenure, compensation and duties fixed by law.
•A position that includes the taking an oath of office, the receipt of a formal commission, and the giving of a bond.
Examples of state and local positions that courts determined to be a civil office include: Board of Workforce Education, Board of Commissioners of a drainage improvement district, State Board of Pardons, school director, mayor, alderman, municipal judge, city attorney, county parks and recreation commissioner, deputy prosecuting attorney, and County Election Commisison. Other positions may be considered a “civil office” by the courts in the future as questions or disputes arise.
•Section 3 would allow unopposed candidates to be elected without their names appearing on the ballot.
It would add to the constitution a section that sets up rules for what to do when only one person is running for a local or state position in a primary, general, or special election. The amendment would allow legislators to pass laws that say unopposed candidates can be elected without the necessity of the candidate’s name appearing on the ballot or, in some cases, even holding an election if there are no other offices or issues on the ballot.
The constitution doesn’t specifically address unopposed candidates. Article 5 of the constitution requires state senators and representatives to be chosen by “qualified electors.” In addition, several state election laws require ballots to include the name of every eligible candidate.
However, one state law (A.C.A. § 7-5-207) allows most unopposed candidates for city office to be excluded from the ballot.
•Section 4 defines “infamous crime” for determining eligibility to hold office.
It would define “infamous crime” in the section of the Arkansas Constitution that says who cannot serve in the state legislature or hold any other public office in the state. Under the proposed amendment, an “infamous crime” would include: A felony offense, abuse of office as defined under Arkansas law, tampering as defined under Arkansas law, and a misdemeanor offense involving an act of deceit, fraud or false statement, including misdemeanor offenses related to the elction process.
The Arkansas Constitution currently reads: “No person hereafter convicted of embezzlement of public money, bribery, forgery or other infamous crime shall be eligible to the General Assembly or capable of holding any office of trust or profit in this state.”
Because the Arkansas Constitution doesn’t define “infamous crime,” the court system has defined the phrase’s meaning to include crimes involving deceit and dishonesty. Recent legal interpretations included theft or crimes that harmed the integrity of office and impact a person’s ability to serve as an elected official.
If passed, changes would go into effect Jan. 1, 2017.