Arkansas Secretary of State Rejects Pro-Abortion Group’s Ballot Initiative

Supporters and opponents of a proposed ballot measure to scale back Arkansas' abortion ban hold signs outside the old Supreme Court chamber at the state Capitol in Little Rock, Ark., on July 5, 2024. Andrew DeMillo/AP Photo

Arkansas’ top election official rejected a petition for an abortion-related ballot measure that organizers hoped to put before voters in November.

Secretary of State John Thurston rejected Arkansans for Limited Government’s (AFLG) petition for a ballot initiative, which was submitted on July 5. Mr. Thurston cited the group’s failure to comply with the state’s requirements regarding paid signature collectors, according to the secretary’s letter to the group, shared on social media by state Rep. Ryan Rose.

The proposed state constitutional amendment would have allowed abortion up to 18 weeks gestation without restrictions and beyond 18 weeks in cases of rape or incest, threats to the woman’s life or health, and when the baby is not expected to survive birth, according to the group’s website.

Abortion is currently outlawed in Arkansas except in cases to save the life of the mother.

AFLG submitted its affidavit with 101,525 signatures, exceeding the minimum requirement of at least 90,704 signatures from registered voters in at least 50 counties for a ballot measure to be accepted.

However, the secretary of state said the group failed to submit a statement identifying paid canvassers by name as well as a signed statement declaring that all paid canvassers were provided with the handbook of requirements for how to lawfully collect signatures, before they began canvassing.

Dispute Over Signatures

Mr. Thurston said that if he were not compelled by law to reject their submission for failure to comply with state code, he still would not be permitted to count signatures collected by paid canvassers.

“As a courtesy to you, I instructed my office to determine the initial count of signatures gathered by paid canvassers in your putative submission,” he wrote in the letter. “That number was 14,143. After removing those signatures and assuming your attestation as valid, 87,382 volunteer signatures remain—3,322 signatures less than the required 90,704.”

AFLG said its submission met the statutory requirements and that the group had worked with Mr. Thurston’s office throughout the process to ensure they were meeting the requirements.

“We’re not backing down without a fight,” the group wrote Thursday on social media, with a link to a letter its members sent to the secretary of state in response to the rejection of their proposal.

In the letter to Mr. Thurston, AFLG said that it submitted the required documents identifying the names of paid canvassers along with proof that the group “explained the requirements under Arkansas law for obtaining signatures on an initiative or referendum petition before the paid canvasser solicited signatures.”

Executive Director Lauren Cowles, who authored the letter, said that “regardless of your erroneous position that the paid canvasser petition parts should not be counted, you have a duty to count every signature on every other petition part.”

Ms. Cowles asked Mr. Thurston to respond by July 15 to confirm that the group’s petition “facially contains the required number of signatures” and that his office is continuing to verify all signatures, including those contained on petition parts from paid canvassers.