ARK. AMENDMENT STAYS ON BALLOT: From the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

The Arkansas Supreme Court ordered Thursday that a proposed constitutional amendment banning gay marriage be kept on the state’s ballot for the Nov. 2 election, dismissing arguments that it was vague and misleading to voters.

The 5-2 ruling said that although the critics of Proposed Constitutional Amendment 3 "may be correct in asserting that the ballot title could have been written more clearly, they have not met their burden of proving that the ballot title is misleading." ...

The Arkansas chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union filed a petition with the Supreme Court in August seeking to remove the measure from the ballot, arguing that its "popular name" and "ballot title"--terms for the language describing the amendment on the ballot--were overly "vague and ambiguous." ...

It argued that the proposed amendment’s popular name and ballot title as they will appear on the ballot fail to meet requirements set by earlier court opinions that they be "intelligible, honest, and impartial."

While recognizing those earlier rulings, the majority opinion written by Justice Donald Corbin said Supreme Court’s "most significant rule" requires that the court give room for "reserving to the people the right to adopt, reject, approve or disapprove legislation."

The ACLU argued that the amendment's popular name--"An Amendment Concerning Marriage"--was misleading because it does not mention that the measure affects anything other than marriage.

Instead, the ACLU argued, the amendment would affect the rights of single people and the potential for future "legal recognition of any future union or partnership." ...

The ballot title is the exact language of the proposed amendment.

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posted by Eve at 8:57 PM VOTE

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