Moore: When Arkansans go to the polls this November, they will see races like governor, U.S. Senate and secretary of state. Some will see local issues on their ballot, like voters in West Fork and Winslow, who will be voting to allow alcohol sales in their towns. But there are four issues that all Arkansans will see on their ballot.
Kristin Netterstrom Higgins is a program associate with the Public Policy Center at the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture. She says these four items were referred by the legislature back in 2025.
Higgins: And there were 43 different proposed constitutional amendments filed. And they are limited to referring up to three at one time.
Moore: So how does that explain the fourth one?
Higgins: The fourth one? Issue 4 is a bond issue, and it involves general obligation bonds. And Arkansas voters have to give their approval for that to happen. So that is not a constitutional amendment. But it is still a ballot issue. And the way our ballot is shaped, it will show up as Issue 4 right after the three proposed constitutional amendments.
Moore: Gotcha. So let's just go through these in order. I think that'll make the most sense for folks. This is what they'll see on their ballot in this order. Let's start by talking about Issue 1, which is described as the Citizens Only Voting Amendment.
Higgins: So Issue 1 would change the definition in the Arkansas Constitution of who can vote in Arkansas. Right now, the wording that's there voters actually approved back in 2008. So the wording that is there talks about how citizens, any person may vote in an election in the state who is a citizen of the United States, a resident of Arkansas, at least 18 years of age and lawfully registered to vote in the election. And so those four categories are not changing.
But what is changing under this proposal is it's going from that permissive language of any person may vote to a more restrictive language of only a citizen in the United States meeting the qualifications of an elector may vote in an election in the state.
Moore: What is the meaningful difference between the two?
Higgins: The sponsors have said that in other states where local governments have approved allowing non-citizens to vote in very specific local elections, such as school board or even city ballot issues, that there have been some, there's been some controversy over whether or not those state constitutions allowed non-citizens to vote. And there's been some conversation about, well, those state constitutions were a little too permissive in their wording, giving those communities a way to work in noncitizen voting.
In Arkansas, there's not been any communities looking at having non-citizens vote in local elections. But they say that by having this very specific, strict language of only a citizen can vote, and a person who does not meet the qualifications cannot vote, that that clarifies any potential vagueness.
I do want to mention that opponents to Issue 1, the Citizens Only Voting Amendment, say that non-citizens aren't legally allowed to vote already, that it's a crime. It's a federal crime if you are not a citizen and you vote in a federal election. And they point to investigations in Arkansas and in other places about non-citizen voting and say it's just not happening in Arkansas. And so a person who wants to become a citizen will most likely not risk that opportunity to become a citizen, to vote in an election. So opponents say this is like a non-issue. And now it also might make local immigrants feel not welcomed in the community.
I do also want to mention that over time, the definition of who can vote in Arkansas has changed. Since 1836, when we became a state, it was only free white men aged 21 and older who had lived in the state for a while could vote, right? And then you have it changed to include women. And then you have it changed to include younger people. And it's constantly changed over the years.
Moore: Issue 2 is a constitutional amendment to amend the Arkansas Constitution to protect the right to keep and bear arms. Again, we're kind of talking a little bit about substantive difference here between, say, what is the difference between Issue 2 and, say, the Second Amendment in the federal Constitution?
Higgins: The Arkansas Constitution has always had the right to keep arms in it. So that goes back to the beginning, the foundation of our state. And right now in the Constitution, it says citizens of the state shall have the right to keep and bear arms for their common defense. And similar to the sponsors of Issue 1, sponsors of Issue 2 say, well, that's a very short and vague. And they want to add more to it, to broaden the meaning of the right to keep arms.
And so Issue 2, it goes from that very brief sentence to including beyond common defense to include lawful hunting and recreational use and any other lawful purpose. It talks about the right to keep and bear arms also means that you can have the possession and use of ammunition, firearm accessories and firearm components. And some supporters point out, the big thing for them is that this would say that the right to keep and bear arms is a natural, fundamental and individual right that shall not be infringed.
So there's not any proposed legislation to make these things harder to obtain or to use or possess in Arkansas. But sponsors, again, like Issue 1, say, well, in other states, there have been court decisions or other states trying to change laws, and they want to get on the front end of that in Arkansas.
Moore: So a bit of like preventative measures really?
Higgins: Right? Okay. Issue 3 is a constitutional amendment concerning economic development in the state of Arkansas and authorizing the General Assembly to provide for the creation of economic development districts to promote economic development. What does this mean?
Higgins: So big picture. We're talking about policy here, right? That's what a constitutional amendment is. It's asking voters to approve policy. And with Issue 3, they're being asked to approve a new economic development policy in Arkansas. So the Constitution again dates back to 1874. And at the time it was approved, it was very restrictive on what government could do or what kind of debt the government could get into.
So there are multiple sections in this proposal. One of the big ones, it was mentioned in the name, economic development districts. If this is passed by the voters, it would allow a city or a county or cooperative to create an economic development district or create the local legislation. So this all goes back to, if this passes, the legislature has to come back and pass a law that fleshes out all the details. So Issue 3 is policy. If that's approved, they come back with laws saying this is how the structure will be and how it will work, and they're wanting to allow the legislature to pass that enabling legislation, allowing local communities to create economic development districts for economic development purposes.
So back in 2016, Arkansas voters approved a constitutional amendment allowing local governments to use public funds for private economic development. So that change in the Constitution is what made it legal for cities to pay chambers of commerce for economic development assistance, etc. So this proposal would add economic development districts to that list. And so that would allow them to receive public funds.
Issue 3 would say that property within an economic development district would be exempt from property tax, but that the district itself would have the authority to levy taxes or charges on the property within the district, and then they could use that funding that they collect to pay off bond debt or potential other purposes. But a lot of this goes back to what is the enabling legislation that the legislature will approve in future sessions.
Moore: The last one here is Issue 4. This is about Arkansas Water, Waste Disposal and Pollution Abatement Facilities Financing Act of 2025. And as you said right before we hit record here, this is the most straightforward one.
Higgins: It is. It is because voters actually approved a similar bond issue back in 2008. So we can go, oh, hey, do y'all remember doing this back then? Although I will admit I was not necessarily paying as much attention in 2008, before I worked on the voter guides at the Public Policy Center.
But so currently there is funding that voters approved in 2008. And this proposal would say, okay, that money has been spent, that authority is over. And the state would like voter approval for new authority to issue new bonds. And the funding in the past has all flown through the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission, which is now part of the Department of Agriculture. They issue bonds and use the proceeds from those sales to either match federal grants for water, wastewater, sewer, other types of infrastructure. They also have a match for the federal Clean Water Revolving Loan Fund.
So communities in our state that received some sort of funding from the state for their local water infrastructure, most of that money is coming from that past bond issue. And so now they're saying, hey, we need more money to continue these projects.
So one of the big projects so far over the past decade has been helping fund the Grand Prairie Area Demonstration Project, which is going to be funneling water from the White River over to irrigating crops. And then the Bayou Meto irrigation project, which is moving water from the Arkansas River to the east for irrigating crops. So as a way to reduce agricultural demand on the aquifers in the east.
And a big part of this, so the amount is $500 million in bond issues. There are some limits to this. And this is what I mean by like, oh, this is the easiest one, right? Because it spells out that they can issue $60 million in bonds over two years unless the legislature says, oh, sure, you can issue more. There is a limit of $165 million for irrigation facilities that I just described, and it requires submitting a plan to the governor who would have that ultimate decision of, yes, let's issue the bond or not.
Moore: As we're looking at these four issues here, Talk Business & Politics, in partnership with Hendrix College, polled on these four different issues. The results as we're looking at them here, the Citizens Only Voting Amendment was 60% for, 27% against and 13% undecided. Similar numbers, a little bit stronger in favor of Issue 2, the right to bear arms. Water bonds, similar number there, 66% for.
The one that seems to be perhaps the most who knows of the issues is, we kind of got at here, was Issue 3 about the economic development. We're looking at 37% for it, 25% against it, and 38%, the largest percentage, is undecided. And I can't help but think, Kristin, that part of that is just a, there's just, we don't know much about it. It's hard to understand based on the language we're reading here, what this is about. And so I say this mostly to say, I'm glad that you're here to help explain some of this and to help provide a little bit of context to this, because at the end of the day, you're either going to vote for it or against it or not at all. And one of them is going to pan out.
Higgins: Right. And research shows the more that a person doesn't know what a ballot measure, what that change would mean, that they would either vote against it or just skip it. And we've seen that in the past where Arkansas voters have skipped over constitutional amendments. The governor's race always gets the highest turnout. And then you can look and see a constitutional amendment received maybe 300,000 to 400,000 fewer votes than the governor's election. So it is important to understand what these are about.
And that's part of the reason why we put together our voter guide on all of the ballot issues. It'll be on our website in September, and printed copies will be at our local Cooperative Extension Service offices in all 75 counties by the end of September. And the guide goes through, what does the ballot title say? So you have that opportunity to look at it before you show up to vote. And again, these are in all caps, so they can be a little difficult to read and comprehend.
And then there's some legal languages, like, for example, our voter guide even goes into what is a bond, right? So that's the government's way of taking out a long term loan, similar to you or me taking out a loan to pay to buy a house and pay off over 30 years. This is the way most governments take out that long term debt.
And so the guide goes into what supporters say, what opponents say. And what are the potential changes? So again, we talked a little bit about what the supporters are saying. But from an opposition standpoint, the confusion over what Issue 3 is, that's kind of why people are like, well, would it do this? Would it do that? Would it do this? And a lot of those questions would be answered by that enabling legislation that would have to come in a future legislative session.
Moore: Kristin Netterstrom Higgins is a program associate with the Public Policy Center at the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture. She joined me in the Bruce and Ann Applegate News Studio One last week.
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