Abortion-on-ballot debate brings in marijuana and casino petitioners, claims of double standard

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Concerns about the Arkansas secretary of state have led two ballot question groups to enter the legal battle to put abortion access on the November ballot.

The two, one working to put an updated medical marijuana amendment alongside a group working to rescind a Pope County casino license, filed a joint brief with the Arkansas Supreme Court on Tuesday. They claim Secretary of State John Thurston is mistaken in preventing the abortion amendment from appearing on the ballot.

The groups who filed the joint brief, medical marijuana Arkansans for Patient Access (AFPA) and casino opponents Local Voters in Charge (LVIC), claim double standards. They assert that Thurston’s application of the standard to a third group, the abortion amendment sponsors Arkansans for Limited Government (AFLG), was inconsistent.

“The absurdity is highlighted by Respondent’s [Thurston’s] differing and conflicting positions on each proposed amendment,” the brief states.

In the Tuesday filing, AFPA and LVIC said in the joint statement to the court that the secretary’s interpretation of law against AFLG, “…defies rules of statutory construction, contravenes well-established agency law, and even contradicts Respondent’s own policy and practice established over numerous election cycles, thereby leading to an absurd result.”

Thurston’s office approved the LIVC petition and granted AFPA additional time to gather more of the required signatures, something allowed under state law in certain circumstances. The signatures for AFLG were not counted by Thurston’s office, which cited the group’s failure to include the required paperwork alongside the submission of the signatures.

Without being counted, the abortion access amendment would not appear on the ballot.

AFLG appealed to the state Supreme Court, which appointed a special master and required briefs to settle the matter, currently underway. It also ordered the secretary of state to count the AFLG signatures.

Most recently, AFLG noted to the court that Thurston’s office granted leeway to AFPA’s ongoing signature gathering because paperwork turned in with its initial submission was not in place.

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