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.

Four Arkansas laws regulating voting will stay in place

KUAR | By Josie Lenora

The Supreme Court of Arkansas on Thursday overturned a lower court ruling in a lawsuit challenging four new voting laws.

The League of Women Voters of Arkansas and Arkansas United brought a lawsuit against the four laws passed in 2021. Among many things, the laws make it slightly harder to vote absentee or without a state photo ID.

On March 24, 2022, a lower court granted a permanent injunction against the laws, meaning they were halted from being enforced. On Thursday, the Arkansas Supreme Court reversed that decision.

The majority opinion was written by Associate Justice Cody Hiland, a former federal prosecutor who was recently appointed to the high court by Gov. Sarah Sanders after leading the Republican Party of Arkansas.

Four Arkansas laws regulating voting will stay in place

Courts.Arkansas.Gov

Writing for the majority, Arkansas Supreme Court Associate Justice Cody Hiland said four voting laws do not violate the state Constitution.

Contested races set for all Congressional districts; four vie for Supreme Court Chief Justice

by Talk Business & Politics staff (staff2@talkbusiness.net)

Arkansas’ four U.S. House of Representatives members will face either a primary or general election opponent in the 2024 election, although the four are considered safe for re-election. The election cycle will also see four people vie for Arkansas Supreme Court Chief Justice.

The candidate filing deadline for the 2024 election cycle ended at Noon Tuesday (Nov. 14) with the Arkansas Secretary of State website indicating that 351 Arkansans filed to seek an elected federal, state or judicial position. The 2024 statewide primary election is set for March 5, and the general election will be held Nov. 5. (Link here to see the candidate filings.)

In Arkansas’ 1st Congressional District, U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Jonesboro will not have a primary opponent but will face Democrat Rodney Govens, a 40-year year old Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran from Cabot, in the November general election.

Contested races set for all Congressional districts; four vie for Supreme Court Chief Justice

Poll: State Supreme Court race flying under the radar

by Talk Business & Politics staff (staff2@talkbusiness.net)

Arkansans will decide a state Supreme Court race this November, but the latest Talk Business & Politics-Hendrix College Poll suggests 6 in 10 voters may not know for whom they will vote.

In this last round of polling, the survey of 974 likely Arkansas voters found incumbent Supreme Court Associate Justice Robin Wynne with 28% support to Judge Chris Carnahan’s 13% support. 59% of voters are undecided as early voting begins. Respondents were asked:

Q: Thinking about the upcoming non-partisan judicial race for Arkansas Supreme Court, Position 2, if the election were held today, which of the candidates would you vote for?

28%  Supreme Court Associate Justice Robin Wynne
13%  Judge Chris Carnahan
59%  Undecided

https://talkbusiness.net/2022/10/poll-state-supreme-court-race-flying-under-the-radar/

Supreme Court To Hear Arkansas Medicaid Work Requirement Case

By DANIEL BREEN

An upcoming case going before the U.S. Supreme Court could permanently halt Arkansas’ first-in-the-nation work requirement for some Medicaid recipients.

The requirement mandates that people receiving health insurance through the state’s Medicaid expansion program, called Arkansas Works, report 80 hours of work per month to an online portal. By the time the requirement was put on hold in April 2019, roughly 18,000 Arkansans had lost coverage for failing to comply with the requirement.

https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/post/supreme-court-hear-arkansas-medicaid-work-requirement-case

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson outlines the work requirement for certain Arkansas Works Medicaid recipients at a press conference on March 6, 2017.

CREDIT MICHAEL HIBBLEN / KUAR NEWS

Senator Tom Cotton On Trump’s List As Potential U.S. Supreme Court Justice

U.S. Senator Tom Cotton, R-Ark., was among 20 additional individuals named by President Trump as potential Supreme Court nominees at the White House on Wednesday.

Afterwards, Cotton released a statement saying, “I’m honored that President Trump asked me to consider serving on the Supreme Court and I’m grateful for his confidence. I will always heed the call of service to our nation. The Supreme Court could use some more justices who understand the difference between applying the law and making the law, which the Court does when it invents a right to an abortion, infringes on religious freedom, and erodes the Second Amendment.”

https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/post/sen-cotton-trump-s-list-potential-us-supreme-court-justice

Sen. Cotton On Trump's List As Potential U.S. Supreme Court Justice

U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., was among 20 additional individuals named by President Trump as potential Supreme Court nominees at the White House on Wednesday. Afterwards, Cotton released a statement saying, "I'm honored that President Trump asked me to consider serving on the Supreme Court and I'm grateful for his confidence.