Arkansans must wait until 2026 to go for abortion amendment again
After state supreme court disqualifies signatures, activists are back to square one. They hope for more support from national organizations in the next go-around.
Since I was on vacation in London, I didn’t get the opportunity to report on the situation in Arkansas. After disqualifying roughly 14,000 signatures collected by paid canvassers, the state supreme court decertified a ballot initiative.
I spoke with Rebecca Bobrow, Arkansans for Limited Government's spokeswoman on Tuesday. They spearheaded the ballot initiative effort.
“We are kind of in a regrouping period in terms of the longer term,” Bobrow said. “I think it's probably likely that we will refile, but the next time we're eligible for the ballot won't be until 2026, which is obviously devastating for people in the state who will not have access to health care for a couple more years.”
State Attorney General Tim Griffin approved the language for the proposed amendment in January. By July 5, they had to collect 90,000 signatures, with a certain percentage for at least 50 counties represented on their final tally. They managed to get more than 101,000.
On July 10, they received a letter from Arkansas Secretary of State John Thurston saying their amendment had been disqualified because of a paperwork error. About 14,000 of their signatures had been collected by paid canvassers, so when they were disqualified, the organization’s efforts fell below the required threshold to get the amendment on the ballot.
Leaders of Arkansas for Limited Government sent a letter disputing Thurston’s claims, who dismissed their contention. They then appealed his decision to the state supreme court.
The state supreme court ruled 4-3 against the pro-choice side. The decision didn’t permit activists to correct the problems with the petition either.
That was strange because when errors were detected with two other ballot initiatives involving marijuana and casinos, the people who had gathered the signatures were allowed to correct the problems pointed out by state authorities.
“It was clear that the Secretary of State was treating us differently than these two other ballot initiatives based on the content that he disagreed with,” Bobrow said. “He's quite anti-abortion. And then the court was kind of saying, ‘Yeah, go ahead. Treat these three initiatives differently. It doesn't matter.’”
When I first reported on the Arkansas initiative, I wrote that the state Supreme Court could become a barrier to its passage. The court recently shifted to the Republican column after Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders appointed Cody Hiland following the passing of Justice Robin F. Wynne last year.
The seven Arkansas Supreme Court justices are elected in statewide non-partisan races and serve staggered terms, so it is unlikely all court members would be replaced in one election. Currently, the Arkansas Chief Justice seat is open for election in 2024.
Another aspect worth mentioning is the need for more support from national leaders. There had been an unwillingness on the part of national organizations like Planned Parenthood to endorse this initiative and to provide support for the effort because the wording, which allowed abortions up to the 18th week, wasn’t robust enough in its protections.
“I feel very strongly that 18 weeks is better than zero weeks,” Bobrow said. “So I think, personally, in my opinion, the national organizations were wrong on this one, and this would have passed if it had made the ballot and made a really tangible difference in the lives of a lot of women in the state.”