AR Supreme Court kills constitutional amendments for nonpartisan redistricting and open primaries

[sl8]

From https://arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2020/08/27/the-arkansas-supreme-court-kills-constitutional-amendments-for-nonpartisan-redistricting-and-open-primaries#hyvor-talk-view

The Arkansas Supreme Court kills constitutional amendments for nonpartisan redistricting and open primaries UPDATE

BY Max Brantley
ON August 27, 202010:44 am

The Arkansas Supreme Court today disqualified two proposed constitutional amendments for the ballot because of flawed affidavits on background checks for paid canvassers.

This kills amendments to create a non-partisan redistricting commission and to institute open primary elections in Arkansas. Republican money helped finance the legal campaign against both amendments.

The decision also seems to hold significance for a still-pending appeal about a referendum on a law expanding optometrists’ surgical privileges. A group trying to repeal that law is having its petitions challenged on similar grounds.

The key ruling came in the finding that neither campaign met the affidavit requirement for paid canvassers in a new state law that requires them to pass a criminal background check.

[...]

[still_one]

1. I do not believe that Open Primaries are good. People who are registered within a political

party should should their candidates, not people who are not part of that party

That was the reason Lipinski won in 2018 against Newman, because of republican cross over votes

In 2020 Newman won

[sinkingfeeling]

2. I was against open primaries, but in favor of the redistricting commission.

The affidavit thing was put into place by GOP for just such occasions.