The Protect AR Rights and For AR Kids coalitions stopped in Fort Smith to educate on upcoming ballot initiatives and how people can get involved in grassroots projects to protect democracy.
Bill Kopsky, president of Arkansas Public Policy Panel, and Barry Jefferson, president of Arkansas Conference State NAACP, presented information on two ballot measure campaigns during a stop on a town hall tour at the Fort Smith Public Library.
The two discussed how those attending and everyone else in the state can get involved in grassroots work to protect and strengthen the right to petition for citizen-proposed ballot measures and help create equitable access to high-quality education opportunities in all communities.
Protect AR Rights Coalition has proposed and filed The Arkansas Ballot Rights Amendment in response to 13 bills the 2025 Arkansas Legislature enacted that aim at citizens rights in Arkansas, Jefferson said.
“In Arkansas, you have the opportunity as citizens to make decisions for your state,” Jefferson said. “They are making you voiceless if we continue to let them do this. Arkansas is one of the few states that still have this (the ability for citizen-proposed ballot measures). We must fight for it and continue to be heard.”
The goal of the amendment is to protect fundamental rights for all Arkansas to propose ballot measures, gather signatures on petitions and sign petitions, Kopsky said.
Along with drafting the amendment, the coalition has filed suit against the 13 “bad bills” the legislature enacted, claiming they are unconstitutional because they infringe on citizens’ first amendment rights. They hope to get an injunction that keeps the measure, which includes more necessary steps when obtaining petition signatures, from impacting petitions for the 2026 election cycle, Kopsky said.
The bills were passed in order to deter signature fraud, he said, but noted that Arkansas has not prosecuted anyone for signature fraud in the past 10 years.
“They are trying to block the process, making it harder for people to exercise their rights. They are trying to stifle free speech,” Kopsky said. “We want to make it a fundamental right for citizens to propose a ballot measure, to sign a ballot petition and to collect signatures.”
Also discussed was the For AR Kids campaign, which seeks to create comprehensive educational reforms aimed at ensuring that every Arkansas child has access to high-quality education.
“The state is spending money on private schools and taking away from public schools,” Jefferson said. “This is why we are fighting.”
The education ballot initiative would require all schools that accept state taxpayer funds to follow the same rules and standards, establish minimum academic requirements for Arkansas schools, and create free, voluntary access to special programs for pre-kindergarten, programs for after school and summer, education support for students living in poverty, and quality special education.
Both ballot measures will need 91,000 signatures to get on the ballot in the 2026 general election. Organizers will soon start collecting signatures.