Funny business in Arkansas continues over proposed abortion rights amendment
Arkansas Secretary of State seeks to disqualify certain signatures because of alleged paperwork error.
The legal battle in Arkansas over whether to count signatures collected by paid canvassers continued on Friday as two rivals filed briefs in the state supreme court over the proposed ballot initiative that would protect abortion rights.
This was a continuation of something I reported on two weeks ago. The debate is whether or not to count roughly 14,000 signatures collected by paid canvassers and whether the leading abortion rights group in the state should have extended time to correct any issues with the signatures that they collected should the state supreme court rule in favor of Arkansas Secretary of State John Thurston, who is seeking to disqualify the signatures that were gathered by the paid people. Arkansans for Limited Government filed a brief for the pro-choice side.
The Arkansas Abortion Amendment would prevent the state from restricting access to abortion up to 18 weeks after fertilization or in the instance of rape or incest, fatal fetal anomaly, or when abortion is needed to protect the pregnant woman’s life or physical health. Â
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.Â
Arkansans for Limited Government had hired Verified Arkansas LLC to collect additional signatures to complement the ones gathered by volunteers. 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.Â
On July 10, they received a letter from Thurston saying their amendment had been disqualified because of a paperwork error. The secretary claimed that the AFLG violated the petition requirements by failing to submit a statement identifying the paid canvassers by name and a signed statement indicating that the sponsor has provided a copy of the most recent edition of the Secretary of State’s initiatives and referenda handbook and explained the requirements under Arkansas law for obtaining signatures on the petition to each paid canvasser before the paid canvasser solicited signatures.Â
AFLG disputed all that in the brief filed on Friday. They also argued that the signatures can’t be discounted and that there should be time to correct any issue.Â
Thurston filed his brief as well in response. He claimed there was a concern about fraudulence.Â
I’ve seen these methods used in other states to prevent ballot initiatives from going before voters. It’s a technique that antiabortion activists and politicians have relied upon increasingly as they realize that the amendments are likely to pass.Â
It remains to be seen what the Arkansas Supreme Court does. The seven Arkansas Supreme Court justices are elected in statewide nonpartisan 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. The body recently went conservative with Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders's appointment of Cody Hiland following the passing of Justice Robin F. Wynne in late June.