Arkansas Advocate : Arkansas Secretary of State discriminated against proposed abortion amendment, supporters say
Tess Vrbin, Arkansas Advocate
www.magnoliareporter.com/...
Supporters of a proposed Arkansas constitutional amendment to create a limited right to abortion claim Secretary of State John Thurston’s rejection of the measure in July was viewpoint discrimination, according to a brief filed Friday with the state Supreme Court.
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On July 26, the high court ordered AFLG and Thurston to file briefs Friday and to file responses to each other’s briefs Aug. 9.
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“The Secretary’s viewpoint is clear. He wants to keep the Amendment off the ballot,” the petitioners wrote in the 118-page brief. “Doing so furthers his anti-abortion personal beliefs and political interests. … This viewpoint discrimination infringes petitioners’ First Amendment rights and harms the integrity of the ballot initiative process.”
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AFLG asked the court to order Thurston:
-- To proceed with verifying that the signatures came from registered voters in the legally required minimum of 50 counties.
-- To not throw out signatures or petitions that allegedly violate the law pertaining to accompanying documents.
-- To include the signatures collected by paid canvassers in the verification and certification process.
-- To give canvassers the legally-allowed 30-day cure period if the valid signatures equal at least 75% of the overall required number of signatures and 75% of the required number from at least 50 counties.
-- To conditionally certify the amendment for the November ballot as soon as “the full verification and certification process — including any 30-day cure period” is over, even if the August 22 certification deadline passes first.
There’s a lot more information in the article. Arkansas Advocate allows reposting of their work with proper attribution. Find your favorite paragraphs and post away.
Update: Both sides file briefs in Arkansas Abortion Amendment lawsuit
by Matt Campbell for Arkansas Times
The group behind the amendment, Arkansans for Limited Government (AFLG), also contends that Thurston is legally prevented from arguing they did not comply with the relevant statutes, since his office allegedly told the group they had met all the requirements when they submitted their petition and signatures by a July 5 deadline.
Finally, they contend that Thurston’s rejection violates the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution because it treats their petition differently than previous petitions have been treated in similar circumstances — solely, they claim, because Thurston personally objects to abortion.
Thurston, represented by Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin, also filed a brief today. He contends the Supreme Court lacks jurisdiction to hear the case at all because Thurston has not yet made a “sufficiency determination” about the submitted signatures.
Alternatively, if the court does not lack jurisdiction, Thurston argues the group failed to comply with state law when they failed to submit a statement, signed by the sponsor, saying that paid canvassers had received a copy of rules for gathering signatures before collecting signatures. Based on this alleged failure, Thurston argues the group is not entitled to a cure period and is entitled to no other relief from the court.
This article has a lot of detail on arguments made by both sides. Each side has one week to respond to the arguments presented. Those arguments will be filed on August 9.
I am not a lawyer but to me the arguments made by Arkansans For Limited Government seem direct and straightforward while the arguments made by Attorney General Griffin for the Secretary Of State are circuitous and tortured.
I obviously have a viewpoint in this issue but, unlike the Secretary Of State and Attorney General, i can separate my viewpoint from the reading of the law.
Action!
The Arkansas Advocate allows reposting of their articles with attribution. They cover the arguments made by Arkansans For Limited Government in detail. Find your favorite parts and broadcast them to the world on the internet. Here’s the link again.
www.magnoliareporter.com/...
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. If you have a way of reaching her campaign that will be heard please bring this situation to her attention.
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.
Thanks
