Press Releases

Request for review and certification of the popular name and ballot title of a proposed constitutional amendment with the popular name, “The Arkansas Ballot Measure Rights Amendment.”

Brief Response: Having reviewed the text of the proposed constitutional amendment, as well as the proposed popular name and ballot title, I must reject the popular name and ballot title because the ballot title does not comply with Act 602 of 2025. As explained in the opinion, Act 602 prohibits me from certifying ballot titles that are above an eighth-grade reading level under the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level formula. The ballot title that has been submitted ranks at grade 11.5.

Request for review and certification of the popular name and ballot title of a proposed constitutional amendment with the popular name, “An Amendment Concerning Constitutional Amendments, Initiated Acts, and Referendum.”

Brief Response: The popular name and ballot title are substituted and certified.

Question: Is the custodian’s decision to release the requested records consistent with the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)?

Brief Response: The City of Little Rock’s custodian of records has determined that the records should be released with certain redactions. I cannot determine whether the custodian’s decision to redact certain information is consistent with the FOIA because I was not provided with unredacted copies of the documents. As to your specific objections—and for reasons discussed in the opinion—unsolicited commendation letters created by someone other than the employer should be released, while commendation letters created by the employer should be withheld. But because I was not provided unredacted commendation letters, I cannot review the content and determine whether the custodian’s decision to redact such letters is consistent with the FOIA.