After twice rejecting the proposal for not meeting a new reading-level law, the attorney general of Arkansas certified a ballot title on Monday that aims to protect voters’ right to direct democracy.
According to the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level formula, a proposed ballot title with a reading level higher than eighth grade cannot be certified by the attorney general under Act 602 of 2025. The test determines the educational level required to understand written material based on sentence lengths and word complexity.
Attorney General Tim Griffin stated in his judgment on Monday that Protect AR Rights’ most recent submission is at a 9.2 grade level. After making a few small adjustments to make sure the ballot title satisfies the reading-level standard, Griffin certified it. In order to better convey the substance of the proposed constitutional amendment, he also made a number of revisions to the ballot title.
Griffin approved the provided popular name for the measure.
According to a statement from Protect AR Rights, we learned today that the ballot title for the Arkansas Ballot Measure Rights Amendment was changed and then authorized by the Arkansas Attorney General. The AG’s opinion and its implications for our campaign to defend every Arkansas citizen’s fundamental right to participate in the laws that affect us are currently being evaluated by our legal team and campaign allies.
Protect AR Rights can start gathering signatures to get its initiative on the ballot in 2026 now that the attorney general has certified it. Griffin issued a warning that ambiguity in lengthy and complex constitutional amendments could result in a successful legal challenge, even though he approved the measure’s popular name and alternative ballot title on Monday.
According to Griffin, major legal changes frequently have unforeseen repercussions that, if known, would provide voters with ample opportunity for introspection. The Arkansas Supreme Court has often cautioned sponsors of statewide measures about the length and complexity of their ballot titles, as numerous of my predecessors have pointed out while certifying certain lengthy and complex ballot titles.
Griffin added that he was sending a copy of the guidelines to signers and canvassers, which he claimed needed to be included in the Protect AR Rights petition before it was distributed.
After a series of legislation pertaining to direct democracy were passed during the 2025 legislative session, canvassers and signers are now subject to a variety of additional criteria.
The mechanism by which Arkansans can put new legislation or constitutional amendments on the ballot for a statewide referendum is known as direct democracy. The National Conference of State Legislatures reports that Arkansas is one of 24 states that permit citizen-led initiatives.
Some of the new laws are being contested in court by Protect AR Rights. The League of Women Voters of Arkansas filed a complaint in April, and a court last week permitted the group to intervene. Last week, Protect AR Rights submitted its own application for a preliminary injunction and lawsuit in the case.
To preserve direct democracy in Arkansas, the League is working on its own ballot initiative. In May, Griffin approved the group’s ballot title, and volunteers have began gathering signatures in favor of the proposal.
The additional criteria, according to both groups, make it more difficult for Arkansans to propose laws and get them in front of voters. The regulations will help preserve the integrity of the state’s initiative and referendum systems, according to proponents of the new laws.
The reading-level rule and a 2023 statute that mandates signatures be gathered from 50 counties rather than 15 were among the laws that Protect AR Rights contested in its complaint but were not part of the initial case.
The League of Women Voters of Arkansas is also a party to a different case that includes the latter law. On September 3, Pulaski County Circuit Court will hold a hearing to consider a motion for judgment in that matter.
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