Arkansas abortion amendment organizers claims secretary of state ‘failed to fulfill’ his duty in rejecting signatures

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The group behind the effort to put a vote on abortion in Arkansas access on the November 2024 ballot has called out the secretary of state for rejecting its signature submissions.

Arkansans for Limited Government (AFLG) hand-delivered a letter to Secretary John Thurston's office Thursday, calling out what the group claims were several errors in the secretary's rejection on Wednesday of its petition signature submission.

Thurston rejected the signatures AFLG turned in on the July 5 deadline after claiming the group had not provided documentation identifying paid signature-gathering canvassers or documentation stating that those canvassers had specific training and election guide paperwork.

These omissions, Thurston said, violated Arkansas Act 1413 and were enough to disqualify the submission, adding that after removing 14,143 signatures gathered by paid canvassers, AFLG was under the required thres...