AILSA CHANG, HOST:
So far, voters in nine states will decide on abortion access this November, but today, we have learned that voters in Arkansas will not get that chance. That's after weeks of back and forth between organizers and the state over issues related to paid signature gatherers. Josie Lenora of Little Rock Public Radio has been talking to supporters of that abortion rights amendment effort today, and joins us now. Hi, Josie.
JOSIE LENORA, BYLINE: Hi, Ailsa.
CHANG: OK, so what are you hearing from these people who've been trying to put this amendment on the ballot?
LENORA: We have been hearing a lot of disappointment and a lot of outrage. The general sentiment, I think, is that Arkansas voters are being denied the chance to vote on this because of a relatively minor paperwork error. Rebecca Bobrow is a spokesperson for Arkansans for Limited Government, and they're the group behind the amendment. She said today is, quote, "a dark day in Arkansas."
REBECCA BOBROW: We are quite upset, I think understandably. I think the dissenting opinion captures that really well, that it feels like this was a decision made to prevent Arkansans from making their voices heard.
LENORA: She says their attorneys are exploring whether or not they have any recourse this election cycle but that this is late in the game, and their chances of getting on the ballot in November at this point are pretty much zero.
CHANG: Well, how long had the group been working to get an amendment on the ballot?
LENORA: This goes back to February of this year, when the group began collecting all these signatures. They needed more than 90,000 signatures to go on the ballot, and those signatures needed to be from 50 of the state's 75 counties.
CHANG: OK.
LENORA: So this was a massive grassroots efforts. And I want to note, Arkansans for Limited Government did not receive a lot of support from national abortion rights groups. This amendment would have allowed abortion up to 18 weeks, which basically wasn't far enough for the national groups. Despite that, the group ended up collecting just over 100,000 signatures from across the state, which, in theory, was enough to put it on the ballot. But at that point, Secretary of State John Thurston tried to throw out the amendment completely. The abortion rights group sued, taking their case to the state Supreme Court.
CHANG: Right. And today there was a ruling. What did the Arkansas Supreme Court say?
LENORA: So just a little background first - Arkansas has very strict laws about canvassing, and lawmakers continue to pass more laws to make them even more strict. The ruling today was that the group made a paperwork error, which effectively ended their efforts to get this on the ballot for 2024. The group primarily used volunteers to collect signatures, but a small number of canvassers were paid. Initially, the secretary of state said the group didn't submit some paperwork related to those paid canvassers, but documents released under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act showed they actually had submitted them. So then the secretary of state and the attorney general said the paperwork was incorrect because the wrong person signed it.
Writing for the majority today, Arkansas Supreme Court Justice Rhonda Wood said the law is clear about this and that the group ultimately didn't follow the law. Meanwhile, Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders said she was proud the court upheld the, quote, "rule of law and the right to life."
CHANG: Wow. OK, well, voters in other states will be voting on abortion rights this fall. Where do those efforts stand right now? Do you know?
LENORA: Right. You know, since the U.S. Supreme Court ended the federal right to abortion and left it up to the states, these initiatives have been a tool reproductive rights groups are using to protect abortion. And as you said, it's on the ballot in nine states. In some of those states, abortion is banned or tightly restricted, and others it is legal. But in all states, voters will decide whether to add abortion rights to the state constitution. It means the issue will be facing millions of voters, affecting turnout in key swing states for other elections and maybe remaking this patchwork across the country for where abortion is legal or not.
CHANG: That is Josie Lenora of Little Rock Public Radio. Thank you so much, Josie.
LENORA: Thanks, Ailsa.
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