Arkansas secretary of state challenged over rejection of abortion ballot initiative
Arkansas Secretary of State John Thurston rejected a petition to include a measure on the November ballot that would amend the state's constitution and enshrine a "right" to abortion, but the group behind the efforts is pushing back on his reasoning.
The group, Arkansans for Limited Government, seeks to add an amendment to the state constitution that would prevent the state from restricting abortions up to 18 weeks after fertilization. The amendment would also prevent the state from limiting abortions in cases of rape, incest, if the pregnancy poses a threat to the mother's life or if the unborn baby has been diagnosed with a fetal anomaly.
In a Wednesday letter to the group's organizer, Thurston, a Republican, stated he denied the petition because the group failed to submit a statement identifying all paid canvassers by name and a signed statement indicating the sponsor explained to paid canvassers the requirements under state law for obtaining signatures.
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"Even if your failure to comply with AR Code § 7-9-111 (2020) did not require me to reject your submission outright, it would certainly mean that signatures gathered by paid canvassers in your submission could not be counted for any reason," Thurston wrote.
The Arkansas official wrote that paid canvassers collected 14,143 of the 101,525 submitted signatures, and the remaining 87,382 signatures collected by volunteers fall short of the required 90,704 for a proposed constitutional amendment.
A spokesperson for the Arkansas secretary of state told The Christian Post that the office maintains the sponsor "failed to comply with statutory requirements in accordance with A.C.A. 7-9-111 (f)(2)."
In a letter to Thurston Thursday, Arkansans for Limited Government asserted that it complied with the necessary requirements under state law and contended that it submitted information to Thurston's office about its 266 paid canvassers on July 5 and 266 affidavits signed by each individual canvasser. However, the secretary of state's staff reportedly told them it was not required to provide this information.
The response letter accused Thurston of failing to specify how Arkansans for Limited Government "failed to comply with the plain language of the statute," which the group claims has resulted in members having to guess at the secretary of state's reasoning.
On Wednesday, the group posted a statement about the rejection on X, alleging that the Arkansas secretary of state's office supplied them with the affidavit paperwork, which they now say appears not to have been correct and complete.
"Arkansas law does not empower the Secretary of State to make an unfounded legal interpretation, which is what he did today by summarily declaring that we have not completed the steps for qualification," the group wrote. "We are owed a period to provide a hard copy of the statement, which has been emailed to their office more than a dozen times, if that is what's needed."
Republican Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders reacted to the rejection of the ballot measure in a Wednesday X post, writing that the "far left pro-abortion crowd in Arkansas showed they are both immoral and incompetent."
According to KFF's ballot tracker, which the outlet last updated on Monday, Arkansas is one of 11 states where organizers have launched efforts to include a measure on the November ballot that would add abortion to the state constitution. These measures are set to appear on the ballot in Colorado, Maryland, Florida, South Dakota, Nevada, and New York, while organizers in Arizona, Missouri, Montana, and Nebraska have so far submitted signatures for approval.
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: samantha.kamman@christianpost.com. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
