A historical look at how the Arkansas Supreme Court torpedoed 115 years of direct democracy

A historical look at how the Arkansas Supreme Court torpedoed 115 years of direct democracy

From most news accounts, it was just another day on December 11 when the state Supreme Court upended 115 years of direct democracy in Arkansas by holding that the Arkansas Legislature — a Republican Legislature, at least in this instance — can amend or even obliterate any law ever generated by Arkansas voters. That includes all the articles of the state Constitution that originated with initiative petitions circulated among the state’s voters an…