In Cowles v. Thurston, (AR Sup. Ct., July 23, 2024), the Arkansas Supreme Court ordered the state Secretary of State to perform an initial count of signatures submitted by volunteer canvassers for a state constitutional amendment that would give women the right to obtain an abortion during the first 18 weeks after fertilization, and later in cases of rape, incest, fatal fetal anomaly, or to protect the mother's life or physical health. As previously reported, the Secretary of State rejected all the petitions because they were not accompanied by required paperwork regarding those submitted by paid canvassers. 3 Justices would have gone further and given proponents a 30-day cure period. Arkansas Advocate reports on the Court Order. [Thanks to Thomas Rutledge for the lead.]
