Connecting the Dots: Article 21 & Local Democracy

On December 10, 2025, Dr. Gail Choate, Executive Director of Arkansas Civic Action Network (ArkCAN), presented at the Peace, Justice, and Human Rights Conference held in Boca Raton, FL. She shared  findings from her multi-year field research conducted across Arkansas and the South between 2020 and 2025. Her talk, “Connecting the Dots: Article 21 & Local Democracy,” examined how democratic participation is shaped—and often constrained—by laws, procedures, and institutional design, and how communities respond when access narrows.

Drawing on her original data, field interviews, and direct observation of grassroots organizing and ballot access efforts, Dr. Choate demonstrates that Arkansans are not disengaging from democracy—they are adapting. As formal pathways tighten, people learn the rules, challenge decisions, organize locally, and build lasting civic capacity. The message was clear: democracy does not sustain itself. It holds because ordinary people insist on being part of it.