Arkansas court orders state to count signatures collected by volunteers for abortion-rights measure

Earlier DU thread: Arkansas Supreme Court orders count of abortion amendment signatures

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Source: Associated Press

Arkansas court orders state to count signatures collected by volunteers for abortion-rights measure

BY ANDREW DEMILLO
Updated 11:03 AM EDT, July 24, 2024

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — The Arkansas Supreme Court on Tuesday night ordered the state to begin counting signatures submitted in favor of putting an abortion-rights measure on the ballot — but only ones collected by volunteers for the proposal’s campaign.

The one-page order from the majority-conservative court left uncertainty about the future of the proposed ballot measure. Justices stopped short of ruling on whether to allow a lawsuit challenging the state’s rejection of petitions for the measure to go forward.

The court gave the state until 9 a.m. Monday to perform an initial count of the signatures from volunteers.

Election officials on July 10 said Arkansans for Limited Government, the group behind the measure, did not properly submit documentation regarding signature gatherers it hired.

The group disputed that assertion, ...

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/abortion-petitions-arkansas-court-a789b60496e9103800ac890c4e2eb229