Arkansas Secretary of State defends rejection of proposed abortion amendment

KUAR | By Tess Vrbin / Arkansas Advocate

From the Arkansas Advocate:

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.

Thurston’s filing was in compliance with a state Supreme Court order on Friday that his office respond to a complaint filed July 6 by Arkansans for Limited Government.

The response denied most of the allegations in AFLG’s July 16 legal complaint and reiterated many of Thurston’s previous reasons for rejecting the proposed amendment, which the ballot question committee submitted to his office July 5 with more than 102,000 signatures.

Arkansas Secretary of State defends rejection of proposed abortion amendment

Tess Vrbin/Arkansas Advocate

A supporter of the Arkansas Abortion Amendment holds up a sign in an Arkansas Capitol hallway while petitions to put the amendment on the November ballot are delivered in boxes to the Secretary of State on Friday, July 5, 2024.