Christian Civic Action Committee v. McCuen

884 S.W.2d 605, 318 Ark. 241
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedOctober 14, 1994
Docket94-881
StatusPublished
Cited by398 cases

This text of 884 S.W.2d 605 (Christian Civic Action Committee v. McCuen) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Christian Civic Action Committee v. McCuen, 884 S.W.2d 605, 318 Ark. 241 (Ark. 1994).

Opinions

Jack Holt, Jr., Chief Justice.

The present petition, an original action under Amendment 7 to the Arkansas Constitution, was filed in this court by petitioners Christian Civic Action Committee and Barry King. They request that we enjoin respondent Secretary of State W.J. “Bill” McCuen from placing proposed Amendment 4 on the ballot for the general election of November 8, 1994.

Although it is too late, as a practical matter, to prevent the proposed amendment from being added to the ballot, we hold that the ballot title, as designed, fails to convey an intelligible idea of the scope and import of proposed Amendment 4 and that the lengthy text is, under the precedents to which we have long adhered, misleading and tinged with partisan coloring. Thus, it is necessary that we grant the petition and declare the measure ineligible for consideration at the November 8, 1994, general election. We therefore enjoin the Secretary of State from canvassing and certifying the returns on Amendment 4.

Proposed Amendment 4 to the State Constitution bears the popular name:

AN AMENDMENT TO AUTHORIZE A STATE LOTTERY, NONPROFIT BINGO, PARI-MUTUEL WAGERING, AND ADDITIONAL GAMES OF CHANCE AT RACE TRACK SITES.

The petitioners do not question this popular name but instead challenge the sufficiency of the ballot title, the complete text of which is appended to this opinion.

Pursuant to Amendment 7, “[t]he sufficiency of all State-wide petitions shall be decided in the first instance by the Secretary of State, subject to review by the Supreme Court of the State, which shall have original and exclusive jurisdiction over all such causes.” The challenge to the sufficiency of the proposed amendment’s ballot title is based on four grounds: (1) that the ballot title is too long to be read and comprehended during the time alloted the voter in the voting booth; (2) that the design of the ballot title will prevent the voter from comprehending that he or she is being asked to approve casino gambling and to grant a monopoly on for-profit gambling to the proposed amendment’s backers; (3) that approval of the ballot title will undermine the integrity of the initiative process; and (4) that the use of the word “authorizing” in the ballot title is misleading. While the fourth issue has been argued by all parties, it is unnecessary, in light of our decision, to address the question of the asserted misleading use of the word “authorizing.”

Facts

By initiative petition pursuant to Amendment 7 to the Arkansas Constitution, proposed Amendment 4 was filed on July 5, 1994, with the Secretary of State, who certified it on July 27, 1994, to be placed on the ballot for the November 8, 1994, general election. It is undisputed that the proposed amendment was drafted at the behest of the owners of the Oaklawn race track in Hot Springs and the Southland race track in West Memphis.

On September 13, 1994, the Christian Civic Action Committee and Barry King, as petitioners, filed this original action, supported by briefs, for our review. Briefs in response from the Secretary of State and Craig Douglass, who was granted leave to appear as an intervenor on behalf of the Arkansas First Committee, were filed on September 26, 1994. The matter was argued before us on October 3, 1994.

Ballot-title sufficiency: standard of review

Upon proper application for review, this court is entrusted with the duty and responsibility to ensure that, when voters exercise their right under Amendment 7 of the Arkansas Constitution to change a constitutional provision through the initiative process, they are allowed to make an intelligent choice, fully aware of the consequences of their vote. Dust v. Riviere, 277 Ark. 1, 638 S.W.2d 663 (1982).

Part of that duty and responsibility entails seeing that the individual voter has available a sufficient ballot title when deciding to accept or reject the amendment. Id. It has long been regarded as axiomatic that the majority of voters, when called upon to vote for or against a proposed measure at a general election, will derive their information about its contents from an inspection of the ballot title immediately before exercising the right of suffrage. Id.; Hoban v. Hall, 229 Ark. 416, 316 S.W.2d 185 (1958); Westbrook v. McDonald, 184 Ark. 741, 43 S.W.2d 356 (1931). This, indeed, is the purpose of the ballot title. Dust v. Riviere, supra; Hoban v. Hall, supra.

The general principles governing our determination of the sufficiency of particular ballot titles have been well articulated in Bradley v. Hall, 220 Ark. 925, 927, 251 S.W.2d 470, 471 (1952):

On the one hand, it is not required that the ballot title contain a synopsis of the amendment or statute. ... It is sufficient for the title to be complete enough to convey an intelligible idea of the scope and import of the proposed law. . . . We have recognized the impossibility of preparing a ballot title that would suit every one. . . . Yet, on the other hand, the ballot title must be free from “any misleading tendency, whether of amplification, of omission, or of fallacy,” and it must not be tinged with partisan coloring. . . .
It is evident that before determining the sufficiency of the present ballot title we must first ascertain what changes in the law would be brought about by the adoption of the proposed amendment. For the elector, in voting upon a constitutional amendment, is simply making a choice between retention of the existing law and the substitution of something new. It is the function of the ballot title to provide information concerning the choice that he is called upon to make. Hence the adequacy of the title is directly related to the changes that he is given the opportunity of approving.

(Emphasis added.)

The changes which would be wrought by proposed Amendment 4 will be reviewed in the context of the petitioners’ arguments. Ultimately, the central question to be resolved is whether, in the voting booth, the voter is able to reach an intelligent and informed decision for or against the proposal and to understand the consequences of his or her vote based on the ballot title itself. See Dust v. Riviere, supra.

Rightfully so, Amendment 7 places the burden of proof in legal challenges to initiative matters “upon the person or persons attacking the validity of the petition.” We liberally construe Amendment 7 in determining the sufficiency of ballot titles. Becker v. Riviere, 270 Ark. 219, 604 S.W.2d 555 (1980). Our adoption of that approach, however, does not imply that liberality is boundless or that common sense is disregarded. Dust v. Riviere, supra.

I. Length of ballot title

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
884 S.W.2d 605, 318 Ark. 241, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/christian-civic-action-committee-v-mccuen-ark-1994.