Arkansas abortion measure’s signatures from volunteers alone would fall short, filing shows

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — The signatures collected by volunteers for an Arkansas abortion-rights measure would fall short of the number needed to qualify for the ballot if those are the only ones counted, according to an initial tally from election officials filed Thursday with the state Supreme Court.

The filing from the secretary of state’s office comes after the court ordered officials to begin counting signatures submitted, but only those collected by volunteers. Arkansans for Limited Government, which used volunteer and paid canvassers, has sued the state for rejecting its petitions.

The Arkansas secretary of state’s office said it determined that 87,675 of the signatures were collected by volunteers, which alone would fall short of the 90,704 signature threshold from registered voters required to qualify. The filing said it could not determine whether another 912 signatures were collected by paid canvassers or volunteers.

Organizers submitted more than 101,000 signatures on the July 5 deadline in favor of the proposal to scale back Arkansas’ abortion ban. But state officials rejected the petitions days later, claiming the group did not properly submit documents regarding paid canvassers it used.

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