Voters reject Issues 1, 2, 4

Arkansas voters rejected a constitutional amendment to legalize recreational marijuana Tuesday night, a resounding defeat for the state's medical cannabis industry that backed the measure and a victory for social conservatives and those who saw the amendment as a giveaway to the state's medical cannabis industry.

With 97% of votes counted, unofficial returns were:

AGAINST 499,843

FOR 388,574

The campaign against the amendment, also known as Issue 4, overcame millions of dollars in support from the state's medical marijuana industry as well as a national trend showing support for legalization of the drug.

Along with the recreational marijuana amendment, voters also rejected Issue 1, which would have allowed the state Legislature to call itself back into session; and Issue 2, which would have changed the threshold to pass ballot measures from a simple majority to 60%. Issue 3, the religious freedom amendment, was too close to call at deadline Wednesday.

Issue 4

Arkansas was one of five states to vote on legalizing marijuana Tuesday night.

For those who campaigned against the amendment, Tuesday's results reflect that Arkansas, as a largely rural, conservative and religious state, is not ready to legalize the drug.

Many opponents of Issue 4 said marijuana was a "gateway" drug that would worsen the state's addiction crisis. Others said they worried children would be able to get hold of it through parents because packaging would not have been childproof.

Passage of the amendment would have meant those 21 and older would be able to legally purchase and possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana in Arkansas. If the ballot measure had won, the state could have started issuing licenses to sell recreational marijuana to 120 dispensaries, including the 38 that already have licenses to sell medical marijuana. Up to 20 growers also could have received licenses from the state to grow cannabis for recreational use.

The vote against legalization overcame a $13 million campaign, funded largely by the state's medical marijuana industry. The campaign against the amendment had a broad coalition consisting of social conservatives, the state's Republican establishment and pro-marijuana legalization activists who said the amendment was a highly flawed way to legalize cannabis.

Numerous conservative groups, including the Family Council Action Committee and Safe and Secure Communities, campaigned heavily against the amendment, claiming that legalizing recreational use of marijuana would exacerbate the state's problems with addiction.

About a week before Election Day, Gov. Asa Hutchinson spoke at a news conference at the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce and said it would become harder for future governors to recruit businesses to the state if marijuana was legalized.

Advocates for the amendment pitched voters that marijuana would be strictly regulated and controlled like alcohol. Responsible Growth Arkansas, the group that led the legalization campaign, spent millions on ads emphasizing that tax from the legalization of marijuana would go toward funding police and cancer research.

Arkansans did not buy the campaign legalization advocates were selling to voters, said Jerry Cox, executive director of the Family Council Action Committee.

"It says to me the voters saw through all the deception that the promoters of Issue 4 were trying to [push]," Cox said.

Cox said he saw the Tuesday night's defeat of the recreational marijuana amendment more as a vote against the campaign backed by millions of industry dollars and a poorly worded question rather than Arkansas voters dismissing the drug altogether.

The nationwide effort to legalize marijuana began when voters in Colorado and Washington approved measures in 2012 to legalize the drug recreationally. Other states such as California, Illinois, Alaska, Oregon and Michigan soon followed suit.

It wasn't just anti-cannabis activists who came out against the amendment. Some of Arkansas' leading marijuana legalization advocates, including Melissa Fults and David Couch, campaigned against Issue 4.

In 2016 Arkansas voters approved a constitutional amendment that legalized medical marijuana. Since medical dispensaries began selling the drug in 2019, patients have spent $700 million on medical cannabis in Arkansas. Currently 90,148 Arkansans have medical marijuana ID cards.

Issue 1

Returns reported Wednesday afternoon showed voters rejecting Issue 1, which would have allowed the state General Assembly to call itself into special session. With 97% of votes counted, returns were:

FOR 331,747

AGAINST 517,387

The amendment to the state's constitution have given power to the state Legislature that it does not presently have to call a special session. Currently, only the governor has the power to call lawmakers back into a special session.

The state Legislature referred the amendment to the ballot, with Sen. Breanne Davis of Russellville and Rep. Frances Cavanaugh of Walnut Ridge, both Republicans, sponsoring the bill in the House and Senate.

Issue 2

For the amendment to change the threshold to pass ballot questions, also known as Issue 2, available returns showed voters making a statement in rejecting a proposal to make changes to state law harder for voters to pass. With 97% of the vote in, unofficial returns Wednesday afternoon were:

FOR 349,702

AGAINST 506,392

The GOP-controlled state Legislature put Issue 2 on the ballot.

The campaign for the amendment took a back seat to the proposed amendment on recreational marijuana, which captured most of the attention in ads and spending. But for some politicians and activists, the Issue 2 campaign became a high-stakes one.

Bonnie Miller, campaign director for Protect AR Constitution, said Tuesday night's vote was a win for direct democracy in Arkansas.

"We have a long history of supporting direct democracy; it's really important to Arkansans," Miller said. "Arkansans know better, we are smart and we could see them trying to pull the wool over our eyes."

Republican state Rep. David Ray of Maumelle led the campaign in favor of the amendment, saying it was a needed check on an amendment process gone too far.

"Tonight's results are disappointing, and there's no doubt that the hundreds of thousands of out-of-state, liberal ad dollars deceived voters about what Issue 2 would actually do," Ray said in a statement. "But this setback is only temporary. I will be working on legislation in next January's session to reform our initiative system to protect it from further abuse."

For supporters of Issue 2, like Ray, the amendment is not an end to voter-led ballot initiatives, but rather a conservative approach to constitutional changes. They argue broad support -- at least 60% -- should be needed for voters to change the law themselves. Defend AR Constitution, led by Ray, and Protect Our Constitution led the campaign for the amendment.

Defend AR Constitution raised a total of $78,000, according to its pre-election financial disclosure, while Protect Our Constitution raised $320,000 with a pair of $150,000 donations from the Oaklawn Jockey Club Inc. and Southland Racing and a $20,000 donation from the Conway County Liquor Association.

Those against Issue 2 said the proposed amendment was an attempt by politicians to change the rules because they don't support recent citizen-led ballot initiatives.

Protect AR Rights and Protect AR Constitution led the campaign against Issue 2, raising roughly $860,000 combined. Both groups were backed by $75,000 donations from the teachers union National Education Association. Over the years, Arkansas voters have made changes to the state's constitution through several key ballot initiatives, including the legalization of medical marijuana and raising the state's minimum wage.

"What I'm hoping is what we see after this is that politicians get the message loud and clear that direct democracy is extremely important to Arkansans and [they] are not going to vote away their power," Miller said.

Issue 3

Returns Wednesday afternoon showed a narrow margin against the "Arkansas Religious Freedom Amendment," also known as Issue 3.

With 97% of the vote counted, unofficial results were:

AGAINST 436,576

FOR 428,576

The amendment would prohibit state and local governments from burdening people's ability to practice their religion unless there is a compelling reason to do so.

It was put forth by the Arkansas General Assembly, with Sen. Jason Rapert of Conway and Rep. Jimmy Gazaway of Paragould, both Republicans, sponsoring measures in the House and Senate to recommend it to the voters.

The amendment also had the backing of many conservative religious groups around the state who argued the state's constitution needed more protections after government-instituted church closures during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Union County’s stance

Voters in Union County mostly followed the rest of the state in their votes on the four statewide ballot initiatives, according to unofficial General Election results. Local voters rejected Issues 1, 2 and 4, but bucked statewide trends by voting in favor of Issue 3.

Here’s how local voters cast their ballots:

Issue 1

FOR 4,784

AGAINST 6,169

Issue 2

FOR 5,217

AGAINST 5,687

Issue 3

FOR 6,099

AGAINST 5,003

Issue 4

FOR 4,470

AGAINST 7,012