Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to the Arkansas
Constitution.
*MBM084* 01/22/2025 12:29:48 PM MBM084
State of Arkansas 1
95th General Assembly 2
Regular Session, 2025 HJR 1007 3
4
By: Representative Cavenaugh 5
6
7
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 8
AN AMENDMENT TO THE ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION TO CREATE A 9
PROCEDURE FOR THE RECALL OF PERSONS ELECTED TO THE 10
OFFICES OF GOVERNOR, LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR, ATTORNEY 11
GENERAL, SECRETARY OF STATE, TREASURER OF STATE, 12
AUDITOR OF STATE, COMMISSIONER OF STATE LANDS, MEMBER 13
OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, MEMBER OF THE 14
SENATE, CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT, JUSTICE 15
OF THE SUPREME COURT, CHIEF JUDGE OF THE COURT OF 16
APPEALS, JUDGE OF THE COURT OF APPEALS, CIRCUIT 17
JUDGE, DISTRICT JUDGE, PROSECUTING ATTORNEY, COUNTY 18
JUDGE, JUSTICE OF THE PEACE, SHERIFF, CIRCUIT CLERK, 19
COUNTY CLERK, ASSESSOR, CORONER, TREASURER, COUNTY 20
SURVEYOR, COLLECTOR OF TAXES, OR CONSTABLE. 21
22
23
Subtitle 24
A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO CREATE A 25
PROCEDURE FOR THE RECALL OF CERTAIN 26
ELECTED OFFICIALS. 27
28
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY -FIFTH GENERAL 29
ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS, AND BY THE SENATE, A MAJORITY OF ALL 30
MEMBERS ELECTED TO EACH HOUSE AGREEING THERETO: 31
32
THAT the following is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of 33
the State of Arkansas, and upon being submitted to the electors of the state 34
for approval or rejection at the next general election for Representatives 35
and Senators, if a majority of the electors voting thereon at the election 36 HJR1007
2 01/22/2025 12:29:48 PM MBM084
adopt the amendment, the amendment shall become a part of the Constitution of 1
the State of Arkansas, to wit: 2
3
SECTION 1. The Arkansas Constitution is amended to add an additional 4
amendment to read as follows: 5
§ 1. Definitions. 6
As used in this amendment: 7
(1) "Elected official" means a person elected or appointed to 8
one (1) of the following offices: 9
(A) Governor; 10
(B) Lieutenant Governor; 11
(C) Attorney General; 12
(D) Secretary of State; 13
(E) Treasurer of State; 14
(F) Auditor of State; 15
(G) Commissioner of State Lands; 16
(H) Member of the House of Representatives; 17
(I) Member of the Senate; 18
(J) Chief Justice of the Supreme Court; 19
(K) Justice of the Supreme Court; 20
(L) Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals; 21
(M) Judge of the Court of Appeals; 22
(N) Circuit court judge; 23
(O) District court judge; 24
(P) Prosecuting attorney; 25
(Q) County judge; 26
(R) Justice of the peace; 27
(S) Sheriff; 28
(T) Circuit clerk; 29
(U) County clerk; 30
(V) Assessor; 31
(W) Coroner; 32
(X) Treasurer; 33
(Y) County surveyor; 34
(Z) Collector of taxes; or 35
(AA) Constable. 36 HJR1007
3 01/22/2025 12:29:48 PM MBM084
(2) "Recall" means the voting by the electors of the state or a 1
district, circuit, county, or township, as the case may be, to ascertain 2
whether or not it is the desire of the majority of the electors to allow an 3
elected official to remain in that office for the duration of his or her 4
elected term; and 5
(3) “Recall petition” means one (1) or more sheets of signatures 6
of qualified electors demanding the recall of an elected official. 7
8
§ 2. Petition. 9
(a) The qualified electors of the state or a district, circuit, 10
county, or township, as the case may be, may petition for the recall of an 11
elected official by filing a recall petition demanding the recall of the 12
elected official. 13
(b)(1)(A) The recall petition for the recall of an elected official 14
elected statewide shall be signed by qualified electors of the state in a 15
number of at least twenty -five percent (25%) of the votes cast for Governor 16
at the last general election at which a Governor was elected. 17
(B) At least ten percent (10%) of the number of statewide 18
signatures of qualified electors collected under subdivision (b)(1)(A) of 19
this section shall be from at least fifty (50) different counties of the 20
state. 21
(2) The recall petition for an elected official elected by a 22
district shall be signed by qualified electors of the district in which the 23
elected official is serving in a number of at least twenty -five percent (25%) 24
of the votes cast for Governor within the district at the last general 25
election at which a Governor was elected. 26
(3) The recall petition for an elected official elected by 27
a circuit shall be signed by qualified electors of the circuit in which the 28
elected official is serving in a number of at least twenty -five percent (25%) 29
of the votes cast for Governor within the circuit at the last general 30
election at which a Governor was elected. 31
(4) The recall petition for an elected official elected by 32
a county shall be signed by qualified electors of the county in which the 33
elected official is serving in a number of at least twenty -five percent (25%) 34
of the votes cast for Governor within the county at the last general election 35
at which a Governor was elected. 36 HJR1007
4 01/22/2025 12:29:48 PM MBM084
(5) The recall petition for an elected official elected by 1
a township shall be signed by qualified electors of the township in which the 2
elected official is serving in a number of at least twenty -five percent (25%) 3
of the votes cast for Governor within the township at the last general 4
election at which a Governor was elected. 5
(c) If an elected official's position requires performing the duties 6
of more than one (1) office under § 1(1) of this amendment, a single recall 7
petition is required which shall encompass all offices. 8
9
§ 3. Recall of elected officials. 10
(a)(1)(A) The recall of an elected official shall be initiated by 11
filing a notice of intent to circulate a recall petition with the Secretary 12
of State. 13
(B) If the Secretary of State is the subject of the recall 14
petition, the notice of intent shall be filed with the Attorney General. 15
(2) No recall petition shall be circulated before the notice of 16
intent is filed. 17
(3) The notice of intent to circulate a recall petition shall 18
state the reason the elected official should be recalled. 19
(4) The filer of the notice of intent to circulate a recall 20
petition shall within five (5) calendar days after filing the notice of 21
intent notify the elected official who will be the subject of a recall 22
petition by certified mail with return receipt requested. 23
(b)(1) Each sheet of a recall petition shall contain signatures from 24
only one (1) county. 25
(2) The sheets of a recall petition shall be organized by county 26
to facilitate voter identification. 27
(c)(1) The recall petition shall be filed with the Secretary of State 28
not less than sixty (60) calendar days nor more than eighty (80) calendar 29
days after the filing of the notice of intent to circulate a recall petition. 30
(2) If the Secretary of State is the subject of the recall 31
petition, the recall petition shall be filed with the Attorney General. 32
(d)(1)(A) Within thirty (30) calendar days after the recall petition 33
is filed, the Secretary of State shall determine whether the recall petition 34
is sufficient and, if the recall petition is sufficient, shall state the 35
sufficiency in a letter to the filer of the notice of intent. 36 HJR1007
5 01/22/2025 12:29:48 PM MBM084
(B) If the Secretary of State is the subject of the recall 1
petition, the Attorney General shall determine whether the recall petition is 2
sufficient and, if the recall petition is sufficient, shall state the 3
sufficiency in a letter to the filer of the notice of intent. 4
(2)(A) If the recall petition is found to be insufficient, the 5
letter shall state the reasons creating the insufficiency. 6
(B)(i) The recall petition may be amended to correct or 7
amend an insufficiency within thirty (30) calendar days after the original 8
determination of insufficiency. 9
(ii) An amended or corrected recall petition shall 10
be filed with the Secretary of State or, if the Secretary of State is the 11
subject of the recall petition, the Attorney General. 12
(C) For a statewide recall petition, correction or 13
amendment of an insufficient recall petition shall be permitted only if: 14
(i) The recall petition contains valid signatures of 15
qualified electors equal to at least seventy -five percent (75%) of the number 16
of statewide signatures of qualified electors required; and 17
(ii) At least ten percent (10%) of the number of 18
statewide signatures of qualified electors submitted on the recall petition 19
are from at least fifty (50) counties of the state. 20
(3)(A) Within fifteen (15) calendar days after the filing of an 21
amended recall petition, the Secretary of State shall examine the recall 22
petition again to determine sufficiency and shall state the sufficiency of 23
the amended recall petition in a letter to the filer of the notice of intent 24
to circulate a recall petition. 25
(B) If the Secretary of State is the subject of the recall 26
petition, then within fifteen (15) calendar days after the filing of an 27
amended recall petition the Attorney General shall examine the recall 28
petition again to determine sufficiency and shall state the sufficiency of 29
the amended recall petition in a letter to the filer of the notice of intent 30
to circulate a recall petition. 31
(e)(1)(A) Immediately upon finding an original or amended recall 32
petition sufficient, the Secretary of State shall notify the Governor who 33
shall immediately call a special election for the purpose of submitting the 34
recall proposal to the appropriate electors. 35
(B) If the Secretary of State is the subject of the recall 36 HJR1007
6 01/22/2025 12:29:48 PM MBM084
petition, the Attorney General shall notify the Governor immediately upon 1
finding an original or amended recall petition sufficient. 2
(C) If the Governor is the subject of the recall petition, 3
the Secretary of State shall notify the Lieutenant Governor, who shall 4
immediately call a special election. 5
(2)(A) The special election for the purpose of submitting the 6
recall proposal to the appropriate electors shall be held within ninety (90) 7
calendar days after the call for a special election. 8
(B) However, if the next following general election is to 9
be held within one hundred twenty (120) calendar days of the original or 10
amended recall petition being found sufficient, the recall proposal shall be 11
submitted at the next following general election. 12
(f) If the Attorney General performs one (1) or more duties of the 13
Secretary of State under this section due to the Secretary of State being the 14
subject of the recall petition, the Attorney General may employ outside legal 15
counsel to defend a legal challenge regarding the sufficiency of a recall 16
petition. 17
18
§ 4. Form of recall petition. 19
(a) The recall petition regarding an elected official shall be in 20
substantially the following form: 21
"PETITION FOR RECALL 22
To the Secretary of State [or the Attorney General, if the Secretary of State 23
is the subject of the recall petition]: 24
We, the undersigned qualified electors of 25
________________________________________ 26
(Arkansas or District, Circuit, County, or Township) 27
respectfully order that ____________________________________________________ 28
(Name of Elected Official) 29
be referred to the people of ___________________________________________ 30
(Arkansas or District, Circuit, County, or Township) 31
to the end that the recall of the elected official may be approved or 32
rejected by the vote of the qualified electors at an election to be held for 33
this purpose; and each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally 34
signed this petition; I am a qualified elector of (Arkansas or District, 35
Circuit, County, or Township), and my printed name, date of birth, residence, 36 HJR1007
7 01/22/2025 12:29:48 PM MBM084
city or town of residence, and date of signing this petition are correctly 1
written after my signature.” 2
(b)(1) Each sheet of each recall petition containing the signatures 3
shall be verified by the person who circulated the sheet of the recall 4
petition by his or her affidavit attached to the recall petition. 5
(2) The affidavit shall be in substantially the following form: 6
"STATE OF ARKANSAS ) 7
COUNTY_____________ ) 8
I, ________________________, under oath, state that the above -listed persons 9
signed this sheet, and each of them signed his or her name on this sheet in 10
my presence. I believe that each has correctly stated his or her name, date 11
of birth, residence, city or town of residence, and date of signing the 12
petition. 13
Signature ____________________________________________ 14
Address ________________________________________________ 15
Subscribed and sworn to before me this the ______day of ________, ____. 16
Signature ____________________________________________________ 17
Notary Public 18
My Commission Expires: ____________________________________." 19
(c) A petition shall be sufficient if it substantially follows the 20
format of this section, disregarding clerical and technical errors. 21
22
§ 5. Ballot. 23
(a) At the election the recall proposal shall be printed on the ballot 24
in substantially the following form: 25
Name: Office: 26
“For Permitting _______________________ ________________________to 27
continue to serve the term of office for which elected ............ /_/ 28
29
Name: Office: 30
Against Permitting ____________________ ______________________ to 31
continue to serve the term of office for which elected ........... /_/.” 32
(b)(1) If at the election a majority of the qualified electors voting 33
on the recall proposal vote against permitting the elected official to 34
continue to serve the term of office to which he or she was elected, an 35
immediate vacancy shall exist in the office, and the vacancy shall be filled 36 HJR1007
8 01/22/2025 12:29:48 PM MBM084
in the manner prescribed by law. 1
(2) If at the election a majority of the qualified electors 2
voting on the recall proposal vote for permitting the elected official to 3
continue to serve the term of office for which he or she elected, the elected 4
official shall serve the full term for which he or she was elected. 5
6
§ 6. Frequency of recall. 7
After one (1) recall petition and election, no further recall petition 8
shall be filed against the same elected official during the same term of 9
office. 10
11
§ 7. Recall expenses. 12
All expenses of an election for the recall of an elected official shall 13
be paid for in the same manner and from the same source as provided by 14
applicable law for election expenses. 15
16
§ 8. Ballot question. 17
(a) A recall proposal shall be considered a ballot question for 18
purposes of applicable laws on measures referred to voters. 19
(b) An elected official, any person or entity acting on behalf of an 20
elected official, or any other person or entity who receives contributions or 21
makes expenditures for the purpose of attempting to influence the 22
qualification, passage, or defeat of a recall petition or recall proposal 23
shall be considered a ballot question committee and shall comply with 24
applicable laws on measures referred to voters. 25
26
SECTION 2. EFFECTIVE DATE. This amendment shall be effective on and 27
after January 1, 2027. 28
29
SECTION 3. BALLOT TITLE AND POPULAR NAME. When this proposed 30
amendment is submitted to the electors of this state on the general election 31
ballot: 32
(1) The title of this Joint Resolution shall be the ballot 33
title; and 34
(2) The popular name shall be "A Constitutional Amendment t o 35
Create a Procedure for the Recall of Persons Elected to the Offices of 36 HJR1007
9 01/22/2025 12:29:48 PM MBM084
Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, 1
Treasurer of State, Auditor of State, Commissioner of State Lands, Member of 2
the House of Representatives, Member of the Senate, Chief Justice of the 3
Supreme Court, Justice of the Supreme Court, Chief Judge of the Court of 4
Appeals, Judge of the Court of Appeals, Circuit Judge, District Judge, 5
County Judge, Justice of the Peace, Sheriff, Circuit Clerk, County Clerk, 6
Assessor, Coroner, Treasurer, County Surveyor, Collector of Taxes, or 7
Constable.". 8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36