Arkansas Supreme Court orders Secretary of State to count abortion ballot signatures

The Arkansas Supreme Court on Tuesday (July 23) granted an expedited hearing and ordered Secretary of State John Thurston to perform an initial count of signatures collected by a group seeking to qualify an abortion amendment for the November ballot.

The court order said: “Arkansas Secretary of State is ordered to perform the initial count of signatures collected by volunteer canvassers” according to Arkansas code by Monday, July 29 at 9am.

“The court reserves the right to issue further orders and proceed in accordance with state law,” it reads.

Three Supreme Court justices signed the order, including Chief Justice John Dan Kemp, Justice Karen Baker and Justice Courtney Hudson.

You can read the court order here.

A week ago, supporters of the amendment proposal sued Thurston for rejecting their 101,525 ballot signatures after the Secretary of State said they did not provide proper identification by some canvassers of the proposal.

On Wednesday, Thurston’s office said it planned to comply with the high court’s order.

“The Secretary of State’s office has seen the Arkansas Supreme Court’s order and will comply with that directive,” read a statement from the office provided to Talk Business & Politics.

AFLG filed a lawsuit against Thurston, who is being defended by Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin.

“I am pleased with the Arkansas Supreme Court’s narrow order directing the Secretary of State to perform an initial count only of signatures collected by volunteer canvassers on behalf of Arkansans for Limited Government. AFLG failed to meet all legal requirements to have the signatures collected by paid canvassers counted, a failure for which they only have themselves to blame,” said Griffin.

Groups seeking to pass a constitutional amendment must collect 90,704 valid voter signatures, which is equal to 10% of the number of votes cast in the most recent governor’s election, with sufficient numbers in 50 counties.

The proposed amendment would legalize abortion in Arkansas up to 18 weeks in the pregnancy and at any time in cases of rape, incest, a fatal fetal anomaly, or when the doctor determines the abortion is needed “to protect a pregnant female’s life or to protect a pregnant female from a physical disorder, physical illness, or physical injury.”

The amendment defines those three situations as those where continuing the pregnancy “will create a serious risk of substantial impairment of a major bodily function of a pregnant female.”

Abortion was banned in Arkansas in 2022 after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion in another case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The decision triggered a law in Arkansas that banned abortions except when the woman’s life is in danger during a medical emergency.

Talk Business & Politics will update this story as more information is provided.