Legal battle continues over Arkansas abortion amendment
George Fabe Russell
Fort Smith Southwest Times Record
www.swtimes.com/...
The state of Arkansas and the organizers of an effort to put abortion access before voters in November continue to wrangle in court over whether the Secretary of State's office acted within its legal authority in throwing out the measure.
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Thurston's office was ordered Tuesday to do an initial count of signatures collected by volunteer canvassers in response to Arkansans for Limited Government's motions to expedite the case and for emergency relief.
That count, which was finished Thursday, found that signatures collected by volunteers amounted to nearly 88,000, higher than Arkansans for Limited Government's previous estimate.
The total initial count, including signatures collected by paid canvassers (subject to additional paperwork that's the crux of the legal battle) is 102,730, exceeding the qualifying threshold of 90,704.
The Supreme Court has yet to rule on the central issue of the case, which is whether the signatures obtained by paid canvassers are legally acceptable in this instance and if the committee is entitled to a 30-day cure period.
This article goes into detail on the legal arguments made in the case and exactly where things stand now.
Yesterday the Arkansas Advocate reported.
Arkansas Secretary of State defends rejection of proposed abortion amendment
Thurston and the ballot question committee will each file briefs with the state Supreme Court this week and next week
arkansasadvocate.com/...
Arkansas Secretary of State John Thurston continued to argue in a court filing Monday that a ballot question committee did not file required paperwork when it submitted a proposed constitutional amendment that would create a limited right to abortion.
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AFLG Executive Director Lauren Cowles asked the state Supreme Court to order Thurston to count the signatures, stating that the committee did in fact submit the required accompanying documents to Thurston’s office multiple times, including on the submission deadline.
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If the Arkansas Abortion Amendment makes it to the ballot and is approved by voters, it would not allow government entities to “prohibit, penalize, delay or restrict abortion services within 18 weeks of fertilization.”
The proposal would also permit abortion services in cases of rape, incest, a fatal fetal anomaly or to “protect the pregnant female’s life or physical health,” and it would nullify any of the state’s existing “provisions of the Constitution, statutes and common law” that conflict with it.
Abortion has been illegal in Arkansas, except to save the pregnant person’s life, since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.
Arkansas currently has the most restrictive abortion laws in the US. If the amendment is passed not only would Arkansas citizens have access to abortion but citizens of neighboring states, that also have strict abortion laws, would be able to get abortions in Arkansas.
Action!
Now that Kamala Harris is the presumptive nominee I have a new action point.
Wouldn’t it be great if Harris mentioned the situation in Arkansas. It’s a perfect example of top Republican governance illegally fighting against abortion rights and voting rights/democracy, our two top platform items. And it’s not just Arkansas. It’s a national movement by Republicans to deny democracy to abortion rights activists that is happening and has happened in Montana and other states.
How do we suggest this? How do we get this placed in front of Harris? I can see her wanting to talk about this. It fits right in with her main talking points.
And, Lord knows, we need someone to shine a light on this situation in Arkansas. My first diary on this topic was titled We Need Help In Arkansas and that’s still the truth.
In the comments of a previous diary RandomNonviolence said “Is it possible that Mary Steenburgen, Billy Bob Thornton, or some other prominent people with roots in Arkansas would speak out? If Kamala Harris or Bill Clinton spoke out, would the folks at Arkansans for Limited Government (AFLG) be able to run with this ...” So, hat tip to RandomNonviolence. I added Tess Harper to the list.
Others helped with contact information.
Kamala Harris Website (You have to volunteer to work in a state to leave the home page. Priorities.)
actionnetwork.org/...
Email the office of the Vice President on a form.
www.whitehouse.gov/…
I contacted the Clinton Foundation here.
www.clintonfoundation.org/…
The Whitehouse Contact Page
www.whitehouse.gov/…
Hillary's contact info
www.hillaryclinton.com/…
The Clinton Foundation
www.clintonfoundation.org/...
Right here on DailyKos I am working with the Arkansas Kos group.
www.dailykos.com/…
Don’t forget to join.
Please add more/better contact info in the comments and send a few emails or fill out a few forms. We need to shine a light on exactly what Republicans are doing in Arkansas, Montana, and many other states.
Join the email list at arliberty.org. This will keep you abreast of the latest news from AFLG.
And donate
Donation page here, arliberty.org/… Merch page here, shop.arliberty.org
Even though they won their lawsuit in Montana there’s still a fight ahead to get the amendment on the ballot. You didn’t think the Republicans were going to quit their voter nullification just because a judge told them to? (rhetorical question)
Donate to the Montana effort.
mtreprorights.org
Rec this diary for exposure. I’m following this story and posting every day there’s news.
If you live in Arkansas and you haven’t registered to vote please do that now. If you don’t know how to register go to the AFLG website at arliberty.org. They will help you get registered to vote. We will need you to vote on the amendment after the signatures are counted and it gets on the ballot. (Speaking optimistically)
Here’s a good link for voter registration nationwide. If you aren’t registered register now. If you think you’re registered, check. Don’t wait until election day to find out you’ve been purged.
www.vote.org
Please post your news on this national issue in the comments.
Please add more action links and strategies in the comments.
There’s a reason why Republicans are doing this. If the amendments are put on the ballot they will pass. Republicans know this but they don’t care about voter’s rights any more than they care about abortion rights or women’s rights.
I’m doing the best I can to hold my mouth right. It’s been working so far.
Thanks
