Arkansas abortion measure’s signatures from volunteers alone would fall short, filing shows

Associated Press

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A court filing shows that the signatures collected by volunteers for an Arkansas abortion-rights measure would fall short of the number needed to qualify for the ballot if they’re the only ones counted. The Arkansas secretary of state’s office on Thursday said it determined 87,675 of the signatures submitted by the abortion-rights initiative came from volunteer canvassers. That would fall short by 3,000 signatures. The Arkansas Supreme Court ordered the state to count signatures, but only those collected by volunteers. Organizers submitted more than 101,000 signatures, but their petitions were rejected after election officials said they did not properly submit documents regarding paid canvassers.