Arkansas abortion rights groups collect enough signatures to advance ballot measure

A proposed amendment to enshrine access to abortion care in the Arkansas state constitution got one step closer to appearing on the November 2024 ballot, after the group behind it submitted the required number of valid signatures on Friday.

Arkansans for Limited Government, the group leading the ballot effort, said it had collected the signatures of more than 100,000 registered voters — more than the approximately 90,700 it needed to submit before a July 5 deadline to move forward with the process of getting their proposal on the ballot.

The group — which, unlike the coalitions fighting for similar measures in other states, does not include any support or backing from major national abortion rights groups, such as Planned Parenthood — said it had also fulfilled a requirement under state law that the total include the signatures of registered voters from at least 50 of the state’s 75 counties.

The announcement means that Arkansas is now the final of the nine states where organizers seeking to enshrine abortion rights in state constitutions in November have formally submitted the required number of signatures to advance the process. (In another two, New York and Maryland, lawmakers control the amendment placement process).

The measures are officially on the ballot in Colorado, Maryland, Florida, South Dakota, Nevada and New York. Arkansas is now among the other five (along with Arizona, Missouri, Montana and Nebraska) where organizers have submitted signatures but further steps remain before the measure is certified to appear on the ballot.

In Arkansas, the group’s proposal which is called the Arkansas Abortion Amendment, would protect abortion access in the state constitution up to 18 weeks after fertilization. The