2018 Arkansas Code
Title 7 - Elections
Chapter 9 - Initiatives, Referenda, and Constitutional Amendments
Subchapter 1 - Petition and Election Procedure
§ 7-9-103. Signing of petition -- Penalty for falsification -- Notice of suspected forgery

(a) (1) (A) A person who is a registered voter of this state may sign his or her own name and print his or her own name, address, birth date, and the date of signing on an initiative or referendum petition in his or her own proper handwriting, and not otherwise, to order an initiative or referendum vote upon a proposed amendment or a proposed or referred act.

• (B) If a person signing a petition under subdivision (a)(1)(A) of this section requires assistance due to disability, another person:

  • (i) May print the name, address, birth date, and the date of signing; and

  • (ii) Shall sign and print his or her name in the margin of the petition.

    • (2)

      • (A) A person who is a registered voter of a municipality or county of this state may sign his or her own name and print his or her own name, address, birth date, and the date of signing on an initiative or referendum petition in his or her own proper handwriting, and not otherwise, to order an initiative or referendum vote upon a proposed or referred ordinance.

      • (B) If a person signing a petition under subdivision (a)(2)(A) of this section requires assistance due to disability, another person:

        • (i) May print the name, address, birth date, and the date of signing; and

        • (ii) Shall sign and print his or her name in the margin of the petition.

    • (3) A person who is under eighteen (18) years of age shall not act as a canvasser.

    • (4) A person shall not act as a paid canvasser on a statewide initiative or referendum petition if the sponsor has not provided the information required under § 7-9-601 to the Secretary of State before the person solicits signatures on a petition.

(b) A person commits a Class A misdemeanor if the person knowingly:

• (1) Signs a name other than his or her own name to a petition;

• (2) Signs his or her name more than one (1) time to a petition; or

• (3) Signs a petition when he or she is not legally entitled to sign the petition.

(c) A person commits a Class A misdemeanor if the person, acting as a canvasser, notary, sponsor, or agent of a sponsor:

• (1) Signs a name other than his or her own to a petition;

• (2) Prints a name, address, or birth date other than his or her own on a petition unless the signer requires assistance due to disability and the person complies with this section;

• (3) Solicits or obtains a signature to a petition knowing that the person signing is not qualified to sign the petition;

• (4) Knowingly pays a person any form of compensation in exchange for signing a petition as a petitioner;

• (5) Accepts or pays money or anything of value for obtaining signatures on a petition when the person acting as a canvasser, sponsor, or agent of a sponsor knows that the person acting as canvasser's name or address is not included on the sponsor's list filed with the Secretary of State under § 7-9-601;

• (6) Knowingly misrepresents the purpose and effect of the petition or the measure affected for the purpose of causing a person to sign a petition;

• (7) As a canvasser, knowingly makes a false statement on a petition verification form;

• (8) As a notary, fails to witness a canvasser's affidavit by witnessing the signing of the instrument in person and either personally knowing the signer or being presented with proof of identity of the signer; or

• (9) As a sponsor, files a petition part with the official charged with verifying the signatures knowing that the petition part contains one (1) or more false or fraudulent signatures unless each false or fraudulent signature is clearly stricken by the sponsor before filing.

(d) When the official charged with verifying the signatures has reasonable grounds to believe that one (1) or more signatures on a petition is forged, excluding signatures apparently signed by one (1) spouse for another, the official shall report the suspected forgery and basis for suspecting forgery to:

• (1) The Department of Arkansas State Police, in the case of a statewide petition; or

• (2) The prosecuting attorney of the county, in the case of a local petition.