New court filings suggest John Thurston is applying rules in contradictory ways — preemptively rejecting the abortion petition, while allowing similar paperwork issues to slide for other petitions.
Arkansas abortion amendment
Posted inArkansas Blog
Now fully briefed, the abortion amendment case is in the Ark. Supreme Court’s hands
A ruling from the Arkansas Supreme Court could come at any time in the coming days.
Posted inArkansas Blog
Both sides file briefs in Arkansas Abortion Amendment lawsuit
Abortion advocates say they complied with the law and Thurston is violating the First Amendment. The state contends they did not and that the court lacks jurisdiction anyway.
Posted inArkansas Blog
Casino amendment makes the ballot, marijuana amendment heads to cure period, sec. of state says
An amendment that would blow up the recently awarded Pope County casino license has qualified for the November ballot.
Posted inArkansas Blog
Labor and delivery: How a volunteer-powered group gathered 102K signatures for the Arkansas Abortion Amendment
Sec. of State John Thurston rejected the Arkansas Abortion Amendment based on a paperwork error, but women’s health advocates are not going away without a fight.
Posted inArkansas Blog
Secretary of state’s filing in abortion amendment case hints at catch-22 argument down the line
Thurston claims the court lacks jurisdiction to review his decision until he finishes the next step of reviewing signatures … which he’s already said he won’t do unless the court tells him to.
Posted inArkansas Blog
Ark. Supreme Court orders secretary of state to count some abortion petition signatures
Though the secretary of state must start counting, the court stopped far short of giving abortion petitioners an outright victory.
Posted inArkansas Blog
Secretary of state’s office pulled ‘bait and switch’ on petition requirements, abortion advocates argue
The group said Secretary of State John Thurston’s “actions have thwarted the will of the people.”
Posted inArkansas Blog
Arkansans and their government stand at odds
History is spattered with the salivary bloviations of powerful people excoriating the activists who want things to change.
Posted inArkansas Blog
The 4 legal questions that will decide the fate of Arkansas’s abortion rights ballot initiative
While we wait to hear how Secretary of State John Thurston responds to supporters of the abortion amendment, here’s a breakdown of the issues at play.