Supporters of abortion amendment counter Secretary of State on ballot measure rejection

Supporters of a proposed amendment to provide exemptions to abortions in Arkansas sent a letter to Secretary of State John Thurston, claiming he was erroneous in declining their proposal.

On Wednesday (July 10), Thurston notified supporters of the proposed amendment that their petitions were being rejected due to a lack of proper identification by some canvassers of the proposal.

Arkansans for Limited Government (AFLG), the group backing the Arkansas Abortion Amendment, submitted 101,525 signatures last Friday. 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.

AFLG outlined their arguments to Thurston in a three-page letter on Thursday (July 11). It reads in part:

“Contrary to your claim, AFLG met the requirements of Ark. Code Ann. 7-9-111(f)(2). Additionally, this letter explains that you have unlawfully rejected the petition parts in question. Finally, the letter explains that regardless of your erroneous position, that the petition parts from paid canvassers should not be counted. You have failed to fulfill your duty to perform an initial count of all signatures submitted by AFLG, and you must continue counting.

“Your letter fails to specify in what manner AFLG failed to comply with the plain language of the statute, leaving AFLG to guess at your reasoning. AFLG therefore submits a new statement, enclosed with this letter… This ‘correction’ is explicitly permissible in this scenario.

“Additionally, your rejection of petition parts defies the statute. The law is clear that petition parts can only be excluded from the initial count for a limited number of reasons.

“Finally, 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. Your July 10 letter makes clear that you relied upon AFLG’s representation regarding the total number of signatures collected, not your own count. AFLG’s conservative internal signature count has no bearing on your independent duty as the official charge with verifying signatures. To perform an initial count of all signatures… You must continue counting.”

You can read AFLG’s letter here. A request for comment from Thurston’s office is pending.

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.