LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — An Arkansas group behind an effort to expand abortion access in the state has filed a lawsuit after Secretary of State John Thurston rejected the proposed amendment over paid canvasser documents.
Arkansans for Limited Government filed the lawsuit on July 16 alleging that the rejection was "unlawful" and prevents Arkansans from "exercising their right to adopt or reject" the amendment.
"This court should correct the secretary's error and reaffirm Arkansas's motto, Regnat Populus, The People Rule," the group said in the lawsuit.
The proposal would expand access to abortions up to 18 weeks in the state as well as in instances of rape, incest, or fatal fetal anomaly. It would also allow an abortion procedure to "protect the pregnant woman's life or physical health."
Secretary of State John Thurston is not changing his mind about his rejection of the amendment, according to a letter he sent to Arkansans for Limited Government on July 15.
With both sides at a standstill, voters have been left wondering what's next in this process, and Professor Robert Steinbuch with the William H. Bowen School of Law said there are multiple ways this situation can go.
"The court can a say, when the abortion folks handed in that affidavit, say, two weeks prior, that's good enough. That's one possible solution, the second possible solution is the court can say, well, you were supposed to hand it in simultaneously, and you didn't, but I'm going to give you 30 days to hand it in, now," Steinbuch said. "That's one possible solution and then the third possible solution is the court says, no, the secretary of state is, in fact, correct, and you're up, your amendment will not be on the ballot in November."
Steinbuch said it all comes down to what government officials decide to focus on when looking at proposed ballot measures like the abortion amendment.
"There's also the broader issue, which is, how technical do we need to be to get something on the ballot? There's no question that they got roughly 100,000 signatures the question is whether they satisfied some technical requirements, and it's that balance, right? Is it enough that they got the signatures, and we can clean up any mistakes later, or are we going to focus on the more technical aspects here?" he added.
Thurston's latest response to the group cites a state law that requires the person filing the petitions shall also submit a statement signed by the sponsor as proof they followed the law on paid canvassers.
He further claimed that the June 27 affidavit submitted by the group was not signed by the sponsor of the proposed amendment and was not submitted with the petition on the July 5 deadline.
Thurston initially tossed out the proposed amendment on July 10, saying the group did not submit required documents regarding paid canvassers. In that letter, he said Arkansas law requires groups that use paid canvassers must turn in statements that identify them by name and that the signature-gathering rules were explained to them.
The group behind the amendment has asserted that it was unlawfully rejected and that he failed to fulfill his duties "to perform an initial count of all signatures submitted." AFLG also said the documents he cited as a reason for rejection were submitted on June 27 and the petitions were then submitted on July 5.
They said that a list of paid canvassers was submitted again on July 5, "which your staff explicitly told AFLG was not required." A total of 265 affidavits signed by paid canvassers attesting that AFLG provided them the information required by law were also turned in on July 4, according to the group.
The group called the latest letter from Thurston "disappointing" and promised "more to come" from them.
"It's unfortunate that Secretary Thurston continues to violate his statutory duty to count our petition signatures," the group said in a social media post. "Over 101,000 Arkansans deserve to have their voices heard," they said.
In the lawsuit, AFLG alleges that Thurston's "insufficiency determination" is wrong because they complied with the law and corrected any errors. The group also argued that even if "there is a lack of compliance" all signatures must still be counted and that Thurston failed his duty to provide an initial count.
Attorney General Tim Griffin sent a statement saying he would represent the Secretary of State in this lawsuit and still agrees with his decision.
“I have accepted the Secretary of State’s request to represent him in two lawsuits over his rejection of the abortion amendment group’s ballot petition. The Secretary of State was correct in his rejection of the sponsor’s submission. The law is clear that the sponsor—no one else—must file a signed statement when filing the petition—not at an alternative time. The facts are clear: the sponsor failed to meet those requirements, and they have yet to produce any evidence that they submitted the required statement, signed by the sponsor, at the time of their submission.”
AFLG is asking the court to vacate the rejection of the amendment and that all signatures be counted, including those collected by paid canvassers. The AFLG suit was filed directly with the state supreme court and the group is asking for "emergency relief" hoping to get a quick decision.
The group also asked the court that if the case has not finished before the certification of initiatives deadline, the Secretary of State's office "must certify the amendment for the November 2024 General Election ballot."
You can read the full lawsuit by clicking here.