Arkansas Secretary of State John Thurston on Wednesday rejected an effort from pro-abortion activists to place an initiative on the November ballot to amend the state Constitution to roll back pro-life protections.  

In a letter to the pro-abortion group Arkansans for Limited Government (AFLG), Thurston said that the group failed to comply with state requirements to qualify for ballot placement. 

Thurston said that the group did not disclose who it paid to gather 14,143 of the signatures it collected in support of ballot placement and invalidated those signatures, meaning the group would be 3,322 signatures short of the required 90,704 needed to qualify. 

“The first part of our review is to ensure that the sponsor has complied with all statutory requirements for submitting a petition,”  Thurston said. “Because you failed at this first step, it is my duty to reject your submission.”

The ballot initiative would have added exceptions to existing Arkansas abortion law for rape, incest, and fetal anomaly, as well as instituting a right to an abortion up to 18 weeks after conception. At 18 weeks, an unborn baby’s digestive system begins working and they can hear sounds. 

AFLG said that it would review the letter and fight Thurston’s decision. 

“As I have long said, changing the Arkansas Constitution involves a rigorous process, as it should, and it requires sponsors to adhere to all applicable laws and rules,” Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin said. “In this instance, the sponsors failed to follow the law, specifically a simple and straightforward affidavit requirement that other ballot committees followed.”

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Pro-life Republicans in the state celebrated the news of the rejection. 

“Today the far left pro-abortion crowd in Arkansas showed they are both immoral and incompetent,” Arkansas Republican Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders said. 

“This is a great day for all Arkansans. Our unborn babies will continue to be protected and the next generation will receive the educational freedom they deserve,” Senate Majority Leader Blake Johnson said. 

After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, pro-abortion activists have moved to implement abortion rights into state constitutions through ballot initiatives. They have done so in multiple states, including Republican-dominated Ohio. Red states like Florida and South Dakota will have abortion rights on the ballot in 2024, while abortion measures are pending in other conservative states like Missouri and Montana.