Kara L. Benca, Petitioner v. Mark Martin

Summary

The court granted Benca's original petition, holding that enough signatures supporting the Arkansas Medical Cannabis Act were improperly counted to reduce the total below the constitutional threshold for ballot placement. Applying de novo statutory interpretation and clear-error review of the special master's factual findings, the court disqualified signatures collected without timely background checks or proper paid-canvasser disclosure, signatures bearing no residence address or a post-office-box address, and signatures verified before they were signed. The court upheld counting signatures affected only by an unchecked or incorrectly checked paid-versus-volunteer box and affirmed the master's finding that Benca failed to prove that canvassers did not witness the signatures. Justice Goodson concurred while criticizing the statutory burdens, and Chief Justice Brill, joined by Justice Danielson, dissented and would have accepted the master's findings.