Nov. 10, 2016
Arkansas Voters Approve All Four Ballot Measures
Arkansas voters overwhelmingly approved three constitutional amendments offered up by the legislature, and became the latest state Tuesday to legalize the growing, sale and use of marijuana for medical purposes.

Issues 1, 2 and 3 passed in every one of Arkansas' 75 counties, but counties were nearly split on the medical marijuana amendment. 

Issue 6 Approval by County

Source: Arkansas Secretary of State's Office


Important Dates to Know

Constitutional amendments go into effect 30 days after the election unless other wise specified in the ballot measure. 

Issue 1 included a specific date. Changes will go into effect Jan. 1, 2017, although four-year terms for elected county officials won't start until after the 2018 general election. 

Issue 6 included several specific dates of action. For example, members of the Medical Marijuana Commission created by the passage of Issue 6 must be appointed within 30 days of the amendment going into effect. 

The Commission must begin accepting applications for dispensaries and cultivation facilities by June 1, 2017. Meanwhile the Arkansas Department of Health will have 120 days to adopt rules for considering applications for registry identification cards for qualified users.

Legislators will be back in Little Rock for the start of the next legislative session on Jan. 9, 2017. They have until Feb. 8, 2017 to file bills proposing constitutional amendments for the 2018 ballot.

What did Arkansans pass?

Not sure what the constitutional amendments will do? Click on the links below to read more about the amendments:





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Looking Forward - Potential 2018 Ballot Issues from Citizens

Attorney General Opinions

The Attorney General is responsible for reviewing the language and titles of potential ballot issues submitted to voters by the public. Ballot issue groups can circulate petitions only after the Attorney General verifies that the ballot title and popular name honestly, intelligibly and fairly describe the purpose of a proposed constitutional amendment or act. The following are recent Attorney General opinions regarding potential ballot issues:

Ballot proposals rejected

Nov. 7, 2016 - A proposal to allow a company to initiate a local election to allow a casino was rejected in part because it's popular name was too long and read more like a ballot title, according to Opinion No. 2016-109. The Attorney General noted numerous spelling and grammatical errors with the proposal. This is the second time the proposal has been rejected. See Opinion No. 2016-099 (Oct. 10, 2016). Barry Emigh of Hot Springs submitted the measure. 


Ballot proposals approved for signature gathering

Oct. 28, 2016 - Arkansas Term Limits Amendment - A proposal to reduce the number of years a state senator or representative can serve in office was certified for signature gathering, according to Opinion No. 2016-105. The proposal would repeal Amendment 94, which voters passed in 2014 and extended term limits to 16 years for members of the General Assembly. Thomas Steele of Little Rock submitted the October measure.