An Arkansas abortion advocacy group does not have enough signatures to put an amendment legalizing the procedure on the November ballot.
On Thursday, Leslie Bellamy on behalf of the secretary of state's office signed an affidavit saying the group only collected 87,675 signatures. This is less than the over 90,000 signatures needed to put the amendment on the ballot. 912 other signatures were thrown out on a technicality.
The signatures were gathered by Arkansas For Limited Government, a group aiming to pass an amendment in Arkansas to legalize abortion up to the 18th week of pregnancy.
Traditionally in Arkansas, canvassers are given an extra 30 day “cure period” to collect more signatures if at least 75% of signatures are validated after they were turned in. Right now, there is confusion as to whether this will be allowed.
There has been long-standing legal tension between the secretary of state's office and AFLG. Initially, Secretary of State John Thurston threw out the 14,000 signatures collected by paid canvassers on a technicality. He then refused to count the unpaid signatures.
AFLG appealed this decision to the Arkansas Supreme Court, which ordered the signatures gathered by volunteers to be counted. Three justices ruled the secretary of state must give the group a 30-day cure period, but it's unclear if this means they actually get the cure period.
A statement from Attorney General Tim Griffin seemed to imply otherwise.
"The Secretary of State fulfilled the order of the Arkansas Supreme Court, did so ahead of schedule, and confirmed that the abortion advocates did not turn in enough qualifying signatures to meet the statutory threshold for a cure period," the statement reads.
Rebecca Bobrow with Arkansans For Limited Government told Little Rock Public Radio that they are “Waiting on more clarity from the court.” She said the group's lawyers are “prepping for all outcomes.”
UPDATE: An order issued by the state Supreme Court Friday clarified that AFLG's case hasn't been dismissed. Both parties in the case must submit briefs in the case by Friday, Aug. 2, 2024 at 4:30 p.m.
