Arkansas abortion measure’s signatures from volunteers alone would fall short, filing shows

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The signatures collected by volunteers for an Arkansas abortion rights measure would not meet the required number to qualify to vote if only those people were counted, according to an initial count by election officials filed Thursday with the state Supreme Court.

The filing from the Secretary of State’s office comes after the court ordered officials start counting signatures filed, but only those collected by volunteers. Arkansans for Limited Government, which used volunteers and paid canvassers, sued the state for the denial of the petitions.

The Arkansas Secretary of State’s Office said it determined that 87,675 of the signatures were collected by volunteers, which by itself would not meet the threshold of 90,704 registered voter signatures required to qualify. The filing said it could not determine whether another 912 signatures were collected by paid canvassers or volunteers.

Organizers submitted more than 101,000 signatures in support of the proposal to roll back Arkansas’ abortion ban by the July 5 deadline. But state officials rejected the petitions days later, saying the group failed to properly file documents about the paid canvassers it used.

Justices are considering whether to allow the abortion rights campaign’s lawsuit challenging the rejection to proceed. It’s unclear what the next step will be for the justices, who have not yet ruled on the state’s request to dismiss the abortion campaign’s lawsuit.

According to Arkansans for Limited Government, the initial count shows that if the total number of signatures from paid and canvassing citizens is counted, the state can move forward with checking the validity of the signatures.

“Our optimism remains alive, but we are cautious as we await further guidance from the Arkansas Supreme Court,” the group said.

However, Attorney General Tim Griffin said the count showed the motion process cannot move forward.

“The Secretary of State has complied with the Arkansas Supreme Court’s order, done so ahead of schedule, and confirmed that abortion proponents did not submit enough qualifying signatures to meet the statutory threshold for a healing period,” Griffin said.

The proposed amendment, if approved, would not make abortion a constitutional right, but is seen as a test of support for abortion rights in an overwhelmingly Republican state. Arkansas currently bans abortion at any time during pregnancy unless the woman’s life is in danger due to a medical emergency.

The proposed amendment would prohibit laws that abortion in the first 20 weeks of pregnancy and allows the procedure later in cases of rape, incest, threats to the woman’s health or life, or if the fetus is unlikely to survive birth.

Arkansans for Limited Government and election officials disagreed over whether the petitions complied with a 2013 state law that required campaigners to file statements identifying each paid canvasser by name and confirming that the rules for gathering signatures had been explained to them.

Following the 2022 ruling of the US Supreme Court the abolition of the national right to abortionthere has been a push to let voters decide the issue stands for state.