Opinion ID: 1871043
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Misleading as to the Amendment's Effect on Existing Common Law Marriages

Text: Finally, Petitioners argue that the ballot title is misleading because it gives the voters a false indication of the effect that the measure will have on existing common law marriages. Particularly, they take issue with the phrase: the Legislature may recognize a common law marriage from another state between a man and a woman[.] (Emphasis added.) They claim that this phrase misleads the voters into thinking that the amendment would expressly require the legislature to vote to recognize common law marriages from other states before such marriages would be recognized. They argue that voters will be misled into thinking that a vote for the amendment would be a vote to ban all existing common law marriages in Arkansas. They claim that this impression is misleading because Arkansas statutory law already provides for recognition of all marriages from other states, except those between persons of the same sex, which would be valid by the laws of the state or country in which the marriages were consummated[.] Ark.Code Ann. § 9-11-107 (Repl.2002). If we understand Petitioners' argument on this point, it is that the voters will think that the amendment requires an affirmative act of the legislature before common law marriages will be recognized, even though such marriages are recognized, in some instances, under our current law. Thus, their argument amounts to nothing more than a claim that the voters will be misled into thinking that a change in the law will occur. As this court stated in Becker, 270 Ark. 219, 224, 604 S.W.2d 555, 558: The fact that it is an amendment is sufficient to inform [the voter] that change will result. Id. at 224, 604 S.W.2d at 558. Moreover, in that same case, this court held that a ballot title is not insufficient merely because it fails to reflect the current state of the law. Petitioners are not entitled to relief on this point. Based on the foregoing, we hold that the ballot title and popular name of Proposed Amendment 3 are sufficient, and we deny Petitioners' request to remove the measure from the ballot. The mandate herein will issue within five days from the filing of this opinion unless a petition for rehearing is filed. Petition denied. BROWN, J., concurs. THORNTON and HANNAH, JJ., dissent.