Benca v. Martin

There is a long-standing tension in America between the ideals of direct democracy and the rule of law. In its simplest form, rule by democracy requires that the majority gets what it wants, but the rule of law requires not only respect for certain | ^procedures but also, as we know it today, respect for those who would oppose the majority.

Nowhere in Arkansas law does one see this tension as clearly as in our perennial disputes over ballots for initiatives proposing new statutes or constitutional amendments.1

This case concerns a proposed initiated act with the popular name, The Arkansas…