Arkansas official rejected valid abortion ballot signatures, lawsuit claims

Group seeking to enshrine rights in state constitution sue secretary of state over refusal to count valid signatures'

Organizers behind a ballot measure to enshrine abortion rights into the Arkansas state constitution sued a senior state official on Tuesday, accusing him of illegally rejecting the signatures they submitted in support of putting the measure on the November ballot.

The group, Arkansans for Limited Government, submitted more than 101,000 signatures backing its ballot measure on 5 July, according to its lawsuit. Five days later, the Arkansas secretary of state John Thurston rejected their signatures because, he said, they failed to turn in the required paperwork, including a statement that identified any paid canvassers used by the group.