Initiative process, voter turnout focal points in Arkansas secretary of state’s race

Republican state Sen. Kim Hammer touts his work on changes to Arkansas’ initiative process as he’s running to be Arkansas’ next secretary of state, saying they’ve made elections more secure.

But Democrat Kelly Grappe and Libertarian Michael Pakko say those changes have harmed direct democracy by making it harder for citizens to get proposals on the ballot.

Hammer’s work on laws restricting the initiative process, including ones that were blocked by a federal judge, has become a focal point of the race to be the state’s top election official. They hope to replace outgoing Secretary of State Cole Jester, a Republican who is running against Libertarian Christopher Olson for the position of land commissioner.

Hammer, Grappe and Pakko are running as President Donald Trump’s efforts to exert more control over state elections has prompted concern from voting experts. The three say they don’t believe the federal government needs to run Arkansas’ elections, and are vowing to work to address the state’s low voter turnout rate.

Direct democracy

Hammer, who has served in the state Legislature since 2011, has sponsored several laws restricting the initiative process that have been the subject of legal challenges. A federal judge has blocked several of the laws and ruled them unconstitutional, including ones requiring all canvassers to be Arkansas residents and paid canvassers working on a statewide initiative petition or referendum to be residents living in the state. That ruling has been appealed to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

His rivals have criticized the restrictions and said they agreed with the ruling against them.

“I think that whole raft of legislation that Sen. Hammer sponsored represented a direct assault on direct democracy in Arkansas, an assault on the principle of Regnat Populus,” Pakko said, referencing the state’s motto, which is Latin for “the people rule.”

Grappe said the focus should instead be on helping the public understand the initiative process and expanding training for ballot question committees and volunteers working on ballot measure campaigns.

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“I don’t think that we need to protect ourselves from the people of Arkansas,” Grappe said. “I think we need to make sure that the people of Arkansas have good processes to use their constitutional rights.”

Hammer defended the laws, saying they’re appropriate safeguards that ensure that out-of-state groups aren’t able to take advantage of the process.

“I think it’s time that they start explaining their position for why they want a weak process that’s been made evident by the flaws in the previous attempts to put initiatives on the ballot,” Hammer said.

Elections, voter turnout

All three candidates said they’d resist an expanded federal role in administering Arkansas’ elections. Trump earlier this year said Republicans should nationalize elections, and the GOP has been pushing for more voting restrictions at the federal level.

Hammer said he doesn’t believe federal involvement in Arkansas is warranted, saying the state already has secure elections. He said he’ll partner with the federal government but won’t surrender constitutional rights.

“Because Arkansas is the leader of the pack among the 50 states, I think that we’re in a much better position than other states,” Hammer said.

Pakko said any effort by the federal government to run Arkansas’ elections would go against the U.S. Constitution, which gives states and localities the authority for conducting them.

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“I think that any movement by the federal government to take a greater role in election processes is vast overreach,” he said.

Grappe said she thinks the secretary of state should push back on any federal efforts to take over the election.

“I will do what I’m required faithfully by the law, but as far as the federalization or nationalization of our elections, that won’t happen on my watch because I think somebody’s got to hold the line on that,” Grappe said. “And I think it’s the secretary of state’s job to do that.”

Arkansas has one of the lowest voter turnout rates in the country, with 53.5% of registered voters casting a ballot in the 2024 presidential election. That’s below the national average that year of about 64%.

Grappe said the state needs to build the public’s trust in the voting process and expand education about the election process.

“We are failing at educating the public on how things work,” she said.

Statewide outreach would be a priority, Hammer said, saying he’d work with businesses, schools, colleges and civic groups on increasing voter involvement throughout the year and not just near Election Day.

“I think we’ve got to do a better job of utilizing the secretary of state’s office to be out in the state promoting the right to get out to vote,” Hammer said.

Pakko, who chairs the state Libertarian Party, said increasing voter turnout should also involve removing barriers to the political process that’s led to a high number of uncontested races. He said he’d advocate for changes that include ranked-choice voting, establishing a nonpartisan redistricting commission and moving primaries closer to Election Day.

“I have a whole set of reforms that I would like to see adopted that would bring more competition into the election process,” he said.

Capitol grounds

Creating more parking for employees and visitors at the state Capitol is also a priority, Hammer said. He said in the short term there are “underutilized” parking spots behind the Capitol that could be opened to the public but said a longer-term solution is needed.

“I don’t know how we can get around additional parking at this time without involving a discussion about a parking deck and where that would go,” he said. Hammer said he’d like such a deck tied to the Capitol building.

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Pakko agreed more parking is needed at the Capitol.

“I think however we would go about it, whether it’s a parking garage or expanding some of the areas for public parking around the vicinity, it should be more convenient for Arkansas citizens to visit their legislators to see how government works firsthand,” Pakko said.

Grappe said she’d like to address parking and accessibility at the Capitol, but also said she’d like to use the Capitol to host facilitated civic-dialogue sessions on divisive issues. She cited Braver Angels, a national organization focused on depolarizing politics, as a model for such sessions.

“I think it would be really great if we could bring in people who disagree on big issues, important issues, and we have facilitated dialogue so that we can talk to each other about those difficult issues,” she said.