The Arkansas Secretary of State's office on Thursday said it completed an initial count of signatures on the petition to get an abortion amendment in front of voters this November.
Why it matters: The state Supreme Court ordered the office on Tuesday to continue counting the signatures after Secretary of State John Thurston rejected the petition , claiming lack of proper paperwork related to paid canvassers.
Catch up quick: Arkansans for Limited Government's (AFLG), the group behind the amendment, filed a lawsuit last week asking the court to vacate Thurston's disqualification.
- The court ordered Thurston to count the submitted signatures by 9am next Monday.
State of play: About 91,000 signatures are needed for the amendment to make the November ballot.
- AFLG said that the Secretary of State's office counted 102,730 total signatures, 87,675 of which were collected by volunteer canvassers.
- In one scenario, the court could throw out signatures gathered by paid canvassers — roughly 15,000 — which would likely trigger a 30-day "cure" period to allow AFLG to gather the shortfall of about 3,400.
The big picture: Arkansas law does not provide exceptions for rape, incest, age, health of the pregnant person or fatal fetal anomaly.
- The proposed amendment would allow abortion through the first 18 weeks of pregnancy, and also in cases of rape, incest, fatal fetal anomaly or to save the pregnant person's life.
What they're saying: "Our optimism remains alive but cautious as we wait for the Arkansas Supreme Court to issue further guidance," AFLG said in a statement. What we're watching: AFLG has filed a motion for emergency relief to require the Secretary of State to continue the verification process while the case proceeds.
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