Trojan Horse visits Magnolia advocating opposition to Issues 2 and 3

MAGNOLIA - It was a wet, muggy Friday afternoon when the Trojan Horse display made its way to the Columbia County Courthouse. Parked on South Court Square, it demanded attention from drivers approaching from South Washington and those driving around the Square. Driving the van pulling the Trojan Horse was David Lindsay, an avid opponent of Arkansas Ballot Issues 2 and 3.

“Right now, 60% of the people who just read the ballot titles will vote ‘yes’ on one and two,” stated Lindsay. “But once people are made aware of what is actually in those issues, 70% will vote ‘no’.”

Lindsay stood outside, a Second Amendment jersey and Arkansas Term Limits-endorsed hat offering little respite against the drizzle of rain. He spoke about the parallels between Issues 2 and 3 and the Trojan Horse, stating that the ballot titles were misleading and would cause voters to vote against what they actually want.

According to a voters’ guide produced by the University of Arkansas Extension Service, if approved by Arkansas voters, Ballot Issue 2 would remove lifetime term limits for members of the state General Assembly but would allow legislators to return to office after a break in service. The UAEX guide says that if a legislator serves 12 years in office, they would be allowed to run again after a four-year break in service.

Issue 3, according to the UAEX guide, would change the requirements for citizen-led ballot initiatives. It would move the deadline for collecting signatures on a proposed imitative up from four months before the election to January of the election year; require that signatures be collected from 45 Arkansas counties instead of 15; and eliminate “cure periods,” where those leading a ballot initiative effort are allowed to gather additional signatures after their original submission if, after review, the number of signatures fall below the required threshold; and eliminate a requirement that says anyone challenging the validity of a ballot imitative in court must provide the burden of proof.

Tom Steele, Chairman of the Arkansas Term Limits Ballot Question Committee, a group that has worked in several elections to attempt to have a ballot initiative proposed to the people to impose term limits on Arkansas legislators, said he felt the way the issues are presented to voters is misleading.

“I feel the problem is that voters are being tricked,” said Steele. “The name of our group is Arkansas Term Limits. The name of our amendment we sponsored in both 2016 and 2018 is the Arkansas Term Limits Amendment.”

Issue 2 is also known as the Arkansas Term Limits Amendment; however, the Arkansas Term Limits BQC is strongly opposed to it. According to the organization’s website, they support strict term limits. Arkansas formerly imposed term limits of six years (three terms) for state representatives and eight years (two terms) for state senators. In 2014, voters approved a legislature-initiated ballot proposal which extended the term limits to 22 years.

Steele stated that he received calls from voters who stated they were voting for the issue because they assumed it was coming from the Arkansas Term Limits BQC.

“We asked Sen. Alan Clark (R-Hot Springs) about this, and he said ‘we didn’t pick that name. The bureau of legislative research recommended that’,” Steele said. “I don’t believe him. If voters know that they are gutting term limits and creating lifetime career politicians, Issue 2 will lose.”

Steele also opposes Ballot Issue 3, noting that the requirement to gather signatures in 45 counties, ostensibly to give more voters a voice in the ballot initiative process, was unnecessary. He said this argument falls short because if an issue makes it on the ballot, all Arkansas voters will be able to vote for or against the issue on the ballot, resulting in every Arkansan having a voice on the issue.

“This is an effort to take away our rights. Sure, you will have the ability to exercise your rights, but you won’t be able to meet the restrictions that they have put in front of you,” said Steele.

For more information on the Issues on the State Ballot, check out our story on our website or go to sos.arkansas.gov.

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