The group behind the Arkansas Abortion Amendment may have a strong argument against Secretary of State John Thurston’s decision Wednesday to disqualify the measure from appearing on the November ballot before its petitions were counted and verified.
The petition materials turned in by the group on July 5, acquired from the secretary of state’s office by Freedom of Information Act request, reveal that Thurston’s Wednesday letter explaining his decision was misleading in at least one key respect. The letter said that the group had failed to provide “a statement identifying the paid canvassers by name” when it turned in signed petitions and other documents on July 5. That led many observers to conclude the group had failed to turn in the mandated list.
In fact, the group did provide such a list. It is still possible that the list had technical deficiencies, but the secretary of state’s office did not respond to questions about the specific nature of its objections.
The group, Arkansans for Limited Government, may also have an issue technically meeting a second requirement to affirm it had given paid canvassers a copy of the most recent edition of the state’s rules on signature gathering (the group argues its submissions on this front were proper). But even if the group was found to have failed to meet this requirement, that would not give the secretary of state authority to throw out petitions before doing a full count and verification. Under the specific statue cited by Thurston, he would have to initiate the count and could only toss the petitions as insufficient at a later stage in the review process. This point is crucial because it could open the door to a “cure period,” allowing the group to collect more signatures in the weeks ahead and potentially making up for any disqualified signatures.
Complicating matters further, the secretary of state’s office repeatedly provided reporters with incomplete information regarding what documents were actually turned in by Arkansans for Limited Government on July 5.
On the afternoon of July 5, a spokesperson for the secretary of state’s office, Chris Powell, sent media the documents filed by Arkansans for Limited Government upon submitting their petitions, along with documents from other groups pursuing other ballot measures. Powell provided just three pages of documents from the sponsors of the abortion amendment. Asked again on Thursday morning, Powell provided the same three pages. But on Thursday afternoon, after follow-up requests, Powell said the office had found additional documents and provided over 870 additional pages to the Arkansas Times under a FOIA request. The pages include the list of paid canvassers and affidavits signed by canvassers, among other documents.
Arkansans for Limited Government has vowed to fight Thurston’s decision “with everything we have.” On Thursday afternoon, Lauren Cowles, the group’s executive director, sent a letter to Thurston saying he had “unlawfully rejected the petition parts in question” and insisting his office “verify all of the submitted signatures.” Cowles said the group had met both of the technical requirements Thurston cited as deficient in his letter.
“Regardless of your erroneous position” on the relevant signatures, Cowles added, Thurston is still bound by law to count the remainder of the ballots, potentially leading to a cure period for the canvassers. “You must continue counting,” she said.
This is a developing story and will be updated.