Supreme Court: Dot this ‘i’ that can’t be dotted

vote, Mark Moore, 16-year-olds, Arkansas primaries, Goodson, photo IDBy Steve Brawner, © 2020 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

The Arkansas Constitution says that “the people reserve to themselves the power to propose legislative measures, laws and amendments.” That may be so, but the people had better dot every “i” to satisfy the Arkansas Supreme Court, even if those “i’s” can’t be dotted.

The Court on Aug. 27 blocked two proposed constitutional amendments, both of whose sponsors collected roughly 150,000 signatures from Arkansas citizens to get on the November ballot.

One, sponsored by Arkansas Voters First, would create an independent legislative redistricting commission to redraw state congressional and legislative districts after each U.S. census. Currently, those lines are drawn by elected officials every 10 years.

The other, sponsored by Open Primaries Arkansas, would place all candidates in the same March or May primary, rather than dividing them into taxpayer-funded Republican and Democratic Party affairs. The top four candidates regardless of party would advance to the November general election, where voters would rank their choices. If no candidate wins a majority, then there’s a process for counting second choices.

These would be major reforms. The first would make it harder for politicians to gerrymander districts by drawing squiggly lines on maps to cherry-pick voters. The second would give voters more options so they aren’t locked into choosing between one Republican and one Democrat in November. We might have more competitive elections instead of most incumbents being unopposed, or practically unopposed, as occurs now. Continue reading →

A third option for president visits Arkansas

Jo Jorgensen is the Libertarian presidential candidate.

By Steve Brawner
© 2020 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

Arkansas received a visit Aug. 28 from a presidential candidate named Jo.

That’s not a typo. It wasn’t the Democratic former vice president, but instead it was Dr. Jo Jorgensen, the Libertarian candidate, who spoke in Little Rock at the First Security Amphitheater alongside the Arkansas River.

Her visit attracted what the campaign said was just under 200 people, which is pretty good for a third party candidate. The event looked professional with signs, paid staff members and an appeal for campaign donations. Her next stop was to be Alaska.

If you’re looking for something different than the major parties’ two old guys – well, she’d be different. The 63-year-old Clemson University professor doesn’t merely advocate cutting government spending, but getting rid of most of the government completely over time. Continue reading →

Is Arkansas the reddest state?

By Steve Brawner, © 2020 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

Is Arkansas “the reddest state not only in the South but in the entire nation”? That’s what state Republican Party Chairman Doyle Webb said during his part of the roll call vote at the Republican National Convention.

Twelve years ago, that statement was unimaginable. Arkansas had been dominated by Democrats since the Civil War and had produced the nation’s previous president.

Now? All six members of Arkansas’ congressional delegation, its seven constitutional officers, and three-fourths of its state Legislature are Republicans. In the 2016 election, Trump beat Hillary Clinton, Arkansas’ first lady for 12 years back when Arkansas was one of the nation’s bluest states, by a 61-34% margin.

Arkansas still has many Democratic elected officials at the county level who have not yet retired, switched parties or lost. But Webb didn’t say Arkansas was the most Republican state. He called it the reddest, which is more of a national and state description and speaks to voter outlooks and trends.

Is he right? Let’s compare. Continue reading →

Who else will protect the kids during a pandemic?

By Steve Brawner
© 2020 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

Who are the unsung heroes of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic? Let’s add child abuse investigator Rachel Speights of Texarkana to that list.

The 37-year-old walks into strangers’ homes and interviews children, their sometimes hostile (and sometimes drinking or drugged) parents, and others, and then decides if the children should be removed.

It takes guts for Speights to do her job under normal circumstances, let alone during a pandemic. She conducted six face-to-face interviews in two homes April 7 while wearing a mask.

“Yes, the coronavirus is here, and yes, it’s a very scary thing, but I don’t let it stop me protecting these children because these children are vulnerable and they need us, and if I don’t go in there, then who’s going to go in there and help them?” she told me.

Speights is an investigation supervisor managing five counties for the Division of Children and Family Services. Like many other employers, DCFS has had to improvise during this crazy time. More work is being done remotely or by videoconference. But as Director Mischa Martin told me, some things still must be done in person. Continue reading →

With three already infected, lawmakers will work fast

By Steve Brawner
© 2020 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

Arkansas state legislators are meeting in their fiscal session starting this week with the same goals they had when they met in a special session in late March: Get their necessary and Constitution-required work done fast, and keep their distance knowing three representatives already have tested positive for COVID-19.

The fiscal session occurs every even-numbered year. Created by a vote of the people in 2008, it focuses on one-year budgetary matters. Legislators then debate everything, including the budget, during the longer regular sessions that occur in odd-numbered years.

Fiscal sessions technically last 30-45 days gavel to gavel, but this time the actual work of setting the state’s 2021 fiscal policies will be completed in about 10 days. Lawmakers will be taking their cues from Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s administration even more than usual as they pass a budget amidst declining revenues and massive uncertainty.

Meanwhile, they’re trying to avoid getting sick themselves. Three representatives have tested positive for the disease: Rep. Vivian Flowers, D-Pine Bluff; Rep. Reginald Murdock, D-Marianna; and Rep. Les Warren, R-Hot Springs. None are seriously ill. Continue reading →