Arkansas Supreme Court Upholds Rejection of Abortion Rights Ballot Initiative

The Arkansas Supreme Court upheld the state's decision to reject an abortion rights ballot initiative, preventing it from reaching voters this November. Organisers failed to meet documentation requirements for signature gatherers, dashing their hopes of adding the measure to the ballot in this predominantly Republican state.

In a crucial ruling on Thursday, the Arkansas Supreme Court upheld the state's decision to reject signature petitions for an abortion rights ballot initiative, ensuring that the proposal will not appear before voters in November. The court's decision marks a significant setback for organisers who sought to introduce a constitutional amendment in a predominantly Republican state, where many top politicians openly oppose abortion.

Election officials cited improper documentation regarding paid canvassers as the reason for the rejection. The group behind the measure, Arkansans for Limited Government, contended they should have had more time to submit additional necessary documents. However, the court ruled 4-3 that the Secretary of State acted correctly by refusing to count signatures collected without proper paid canvasser training certification.

This ruling comes amid ongoing efforts to have individual states decide on abortion rights following the US Supreme Court's 2022 decision to remove the nationwide right to abortion. Arkansas currently bans abortion at any stage of pregnancy, with limited exceptions. The proposed amendment would have allowed abortions within the first 20 weeks of gestation and under specific conditions beyond that period.

(With inputs from agencies.)