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Understand the issues before going to the poll

September 30, 2014

Fast Facts:

(477 words)

LITTLE ROCK – New ethics rules for state elected officials, statewide alcohol sales and a raised minimum wage are among the five issues voters will be asked to decide upon when they go to the polls on Nov. 4.

To help voters understand the complexity of the issues and the arguments on both sides, the Public Policy Center of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture has developed easy to understand fact sheets on each ballot item. 

The fact sheets, available for download or through the local county extension office, are edited by a coalition of experts to ensure they are neutral presentations of the ballot issues. Drafts of the fact sheet are made available to proponents and opponents for comment and review before they are printed, as part of a vetting process to ensure the information is an unbiased representation of the issue and the arguments by proponents and opponents.

“The issues at stake have far-reaching consequences for state leaders, communities and the economy,” said Stacey McCullough, director of the Public Policy Center. “And with voters bombarded with advertisements and opinion through media and other channels, we wanted to create a tool where voters could cut through the noise and understand the issues and the arguments.”

Now available for download are these issues with their popular names download at http://uaex.uada.edu/business-communities/voter-education/state-ballot-issues.aspx:

  • Issue No. 1 - An amendment empowering the General Assembly to provide for legislative committee review and approval of state agencies’ administrative rules and Distribution.
  • Issue No. 2 - An amendment allowing more time to gather signatures on a state-wide initiative or referendum petition only if the petition as originally filed contained at least 75 percent of the valid signatures required.
  • Issue No. 3 - An amendment regulating contributions to candidates for state or local office, barring gifts from lobbyists to certain state officials, providing for setting salaries of certain state officials, and setting term limits for members of the general assembly.
  • Issue No. 4 - The Arkansas Alcoholic Beverage Amendment.
  • Issue No. 5 - An Act to Increase the Arkansas Minimum Wage 

As of Sept. 30, Issues No. 3, 4 and 5 were facing court challenges. The fact sheet content was readied for press before the outcome of the legal action.

Hard copies of the fact sheets will be available at county extension offices in the next two weeks.

The Public Policy Center was established in 2004 to provide Arkansans with timely, credible, unbiased and research-based information and education about public issues. The center’s goal is to increase citizen knowledge, awareness and understanding of public issues and to enhance public participation in decisions regarding those public issues.

Find the Public Policy Center online at www.uaex.uada.edu/ppc.

The Public Policy Center is now on Facebook at www.facebook.com/uappc, and the Center frequently sends out ballot updates via e-mail. Sign up for ballot issues updates by e-mailing publicpolicycenter@uada.edu.

The Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service offers its programs to all eligible persons regardless of race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. 

By Mary Hightower
U of A System Division of Agriculture

Media Contact: Mary Hightower
Dir. of Communication Services
U of A Division of Agriculture
Cooperative Extension Service
(501) 671-2126
mhightower@uada.edu

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