A Service of UA Little Rock
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Judge Blocks Enforcement Of Arkansas Petition Law

A Pulaski County judge has issued an order that temporarily bars Secretary of State Mark Martin from enforcing new requirements on groups that gather signatures for proposed ballot measures.

Judge Mary McGowan ruled Tuesday that the 2013 law was "illegally vague" and she granted an injunction stopping enforcement of the measure until the case goes to trial.

The lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas and the Arkansas Public Law Center.

The Legislature passed the law in 2013 after thousands of signatures for ballot measures were ruled invalid on petition drives in 2012.

Representatives for Martin's office and Attorney General Dustin McDaniel tell the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that they don't know yet whether the state will appeal the decision or let the case go to trial.

The Associated Press is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering, supplying a steady stream of news to its members, international subscribers and commercial customers. AP is neither privately owned nor government-funded; instead, it's a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members.