Abortion amendment supporters sue Secretary of State, ask Supreme Court to reverse rejection

Arkansans for Limited Government, the ballot question committee supporting a potential constitutional amendment to allow for exceptions to abortion, have filed Tuesday (July 16) a lawsuit with the state Supreme Court asking it to overturn a decision by Secretary of State John Thurston, who rejected their ballot signatures over a week ago.

In a 39-page filing, AFLG said the Secretary of State’s rejection of their 101,525 signatures was “incorrect and unlawful.”

“Our compliance with the law is clear and well-documented. The Secretary of State’s refusal to count valid signatures is an affront to democracy and an attempt to undermine the will of the people,” said AFLG Executive Director Lauren Cowles.

Chris Powell, a spokesman for Thurston, tells Talk Business & Politics, “We are reviewing the lawsuit and would have no further comment at this time.”

The brief filed with the court claims that AFLG met the requirements of the law that Thurston’s office said they were insufficient. In his rejection letter, Thurston noted that AFLG did not provide proper paperwork required for canvassers’ petition signatures to be counted.

AFLG claims they did submit the paperwork as instructed by the Secretary of State’s office and, if there was an omission, they are allowed by law to correct that paperwork error.

“…[P]etition parts and signatures are still valid and should be counted even if there is a lack of compliance with § 7-9- 111(f)(2), as the Secretary’s office has explicitly represented to this Court in at least two other cases. Finally, the Secretary failed to perform an initial count of all signatures on the initiative petition, despite his statutory obligation to do so,” the brief said.

AFLG claims they have provided lists of canvassers to the state on 17 different occasions, but what may be the key to the case centers on this notation.

“AFLG also sent by email an updated list of paid canvassers to the Secretary on July 4, 2024, in the same form as the previous lists, adding additional paid canvassers. The list submitted on July 4 included approximately 265 paid canvassers. AFLG did not submit a Sponsor Affidavit with the July 4 list because the Secretary’s office specifically told AFLG that such an affidavit was not required,” the brief said.

“Before the filing, AFLG had asked the Secretary’s office exactly what it would need to sign and submit to the Secretary on the day of filing. In response, the Secretary’s office sent AFLG one attachment, the Receipt for Initiative or Referendum Petition, but did not include any other documents. At the filing, the Secretary’s attorneys and representatives assured Cowles that she had filed the necessary paperwork with her submission,” the brief said.

Among several requests for relief, AFLG is asking the Arkansas Supreme Court to vacate the determination of insufficiency, order the Secretary of State to count all signatures submitted, and order that if “proceedings in this action have not terminated in time for the full certification and correction process to occur before the deadline to certify initiatives for the November 2024 ballot, then the Secretary must certify the amendment for the November 2024 General Election ballot.”

You can read the lawsuit here.