Common Ground Arkansas: Recent Episodes
Common Ground Arkansas
We're working to make Arkansas politics work again. In each episode, we look at ways to bridge the partisan divide and find solutions and leaders who are responsive to the needs of Arkansas.
What exactly emergency clauses are, why they're used, and how often we saw them this year
SB 260 will be heard by the Arkansas Senate today. Here's the latest, along with our testimony in Senate State Agencies.
The latest attack on the Power of the People would make it virtually impossible for you and I to get laws made or changed. A recently filed bill, SB 260, would make signature gathering even more onerous than it already is by jumping the county requirement from 15 to at least 50, and the percent required in those counties from 5% to 7.5% of the people who voted in the last governor’s election to even be allowed on the ballot.
There have been 196 bills filed as of the end of the first week of the Arkansas Legislature. Just under half (44%) of these were appropriation bills – just funding state agencies and programs. So we have slightly more than 100 bills that make or change laws that impact at least some Arkansans.
Of these 100+, there are far more good bills than bad.
Today, we want to focus on 16 of these good bills that we think make Arkansans’ lives better. Tomorrow, we’ll look at some bills we think could make Arkansans’ lives worse.
We have to add the caveat that none of these have been debated in committees yet. Information could emerge that changes our thoughts on these bills.
Sen. Bart Hester's speech upon election as Pro Tem of the Arkansas Senate for the 94th General Assembly
Representative Matthew Shepherd's speech upon re-election as Speaker of the Arkansas House of Representatives for the 94th General Assembly.
DYK there every piece of legislation must be voted on at least 4 times before becoming law in Arkansas? Yep. And you as a citizen have a voice in the process at each of those steps.
We compare the Midterm election performance of our Constitutional officers (governor, secretary of state, attorney general, etc.) through the lens of party, gender, and geography.
Sen. Jim Hendren and Misty Orpin dive into what happened and what didn't in the Arkansas Legislature's 3rd Extraordinary Session.
Want to know how voter turnout varied around the state? Listen to learn which counties had the highest voter turnout, some while actually losing large numbers of their registered voters.
Sen. Jim Hendren and Misty Orpin discuss the District 17 Senate primary race between Spencer Hawks and Mark Johnson.
Sen. Jim Hendren and Misty Orpin discuss the record-breaking early voting turnout in Northwest Arkansas and potential reasons for it and increased voting around the state.
Senator Jim Hendren talks about his current (soon to be former) Senate District that is the new Senate District 34 with Arkansas redistricting.
Jim Hendren and Misty Orpin discuss the Arkansas State Senate District 32 race featuring Jim Tull and Joshua Bryant.
Jim Hendren and Misty Orpin discuss the Arkansas Senate District 28 race featuring Keith Slape, Bob Largent, Bob Ballinger, and others. This district covers areas of Madison, Boone, Carroll, Newton, and Johnson counties.
Take a quick listen to our ethos. What moves us. What we believe. And how we are striving to make Arkansas better.
Early voting has officially begun in the May 2022 Primaries. We'll get you prepped with what you need to know about why you shouldn't wait until November to vote and how easy it is to do it.
Sen. Jim Hendren and Misty Orpin review the special primary election held to fill the vacant Senate District 7 seat in Washington County.
Sen. Jim Hendren and Misty Orpin talk about who's running in the 2022 elections in Arkansas, with a specific focus on statewide offices. They also touch on redistricting and talk about the recently announced membership of the Common Ground Arkansas board.
Sen. Jim Hendren and Misty Orpin from Common Ground Arkansas recap the 2021 Arkansas Legislative Session with a focus on some of the overarching themes. Sen. Hendren gives a behind the scenes look at why the session unfolded the way it did, while Misty talks about how Common Ground is working to provide solutions going into the 2022 election and how voters can use their power to make change.
Welcome to Common Ground Arkansas' podcast. Sen. Jim Hendren and Executive Director Misty Orpin give an intro to Common Ground Arkansas, along with looking at what's uppermost on our mind this week - partisanship.
Topics include:
- Statistics on party affiliation in Arkansas and nationally
- A first-hand look at how political parties set up an electoral structure that favors incumbents and limits choice
- Statistics on how many seats went unopposed in both the primary and general election in the House and Senate (spoiler: it's a lot)
- A look at the small percentage of the electorate that is actually electing some of our leaders when they do face competition