On Wednesday, July 10, Secretary of State John Thurston sent a letter to the ballot question committee Arkansans for Limited Government informing them the Arkansas Abortion Amendment of 2024 is being rejected.
In his letter, Secretary Thurston said they failed to comply with Arkansas law that requires the sponsor to submit a statement identifying paid canvassers by name as well as a signed statement indicating that the sponsor has provided a copy of the most recent edition of the Secretary of State’s initiatives and referenda handbook. Thurston said they did not submit those items, “therefore, I must reject your submission.”
Rebecca Bobrow from Arkansans for Limited Government released a statement last night, disputing the claim that they did not submit the proper paperwork. She said they worked with the Secretary of State’s office during every step of the process to ensure they followed all rules and regulations. “At multiple junctures — including on July 5 inside of the Capitol Building — we discussed signature submission requirements with the Secretary of State’s staff. In fact, the Secretary of State’s office supplied us with the affidavit paperwork, which we used. Until today, we had no reason not to trust that the paperwork they supplied us was correct and complete.”
The statement goes on to say that “Arkansas law does not empower the Secretary of State to make an unfounded legal interpretation, which is what he did today by summarily declaring that we have not completed the steps for qualification.”
Ozarks at Large asked the Secretary of State’s office how soon their office knew these items were missing, and they declined to answer that question.
The letter from Secretary Thurston goes on to say that the signatures gathered by paid canvassers would not be counted, which meant that after removing the more than 14,000 signatures gathered by them, a little more than 87,000 were collected by volunteers.
The Secretary of State’s office said that a sponsor may submit additional signatures if the initial submission of a statewide measure contains valid signatures of registered voters equal to at least 75% of the required number of overall state-wide signatures, as well as 75% of the required number from at least 50 counties.
They went on to say, “However, the signatures are not being counted. As such, qualification for the cure period is moot.”
Arkansans for Limited Government said, “we will fight this ridiculous disqualification attempt with everything we have. We will not back down.”
