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Arkansas Supreme Court Says It Won't Change Rules On Ballot Measures

Arkansas Supreme Court

The Arkansas Supreme Court has rejected an effort to make it easier to challenge proposed constitutional amendments placed on the ballot by the Legislature.

Justices on Thursday rejected an attorney's request to change court rules to allow challenges to be filed directly with the state Supreme Court over proposed amendments referred to voters by the Legislature. The proposal would have also required the same standard on ballot measures initiated by voters to be used on legislatively referred ones.

The attorney who proposed the rule change is an opponent of a measure lawmakers put on next year's ballot to limit damages awarded in civil lawsuits and to give the Legislature control over court rules.

The court did not elaborate on its reason for rejecting the rule change proposal.

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