At noon on Friday July 5th, 2024, the Arkansas Abortion Amendment stands at 53 Counties and over 100,000 signatures from all 75 counties, more than enough to qualify for the November ballot.
Today Arkansans across the state came together to make their voices heard. The people of the state have decided that they want to exercise their right to direct democracy and vote to restore abortion access this November.
Arkansas has once again lived up to the ideals of its motto: Regnat Populus, the People Rule.
Volunteers have endured rain, sleet, and devastating heat to collect these signatures. They have dealt with intimidation, doxing, and harassment throughout this campaign.
And yet: they have delivered a win for all Arkansas.
There are no words for our gratitude and our excitement. But this is just the beginning!
So what’s next?
First, we wait for the Secretary of State to complete the count. They will check signatures against voter records and verify that each signature represents a registered Arkansas voter. Any signatures that cannot be verified will be stricken from the count. The Secretary will have up to 30 days to complete this count.
If at the end of that process we have still cleared the 50 county/90,704 signature mark, then that’s the end of the Secretary of State’s involvement! We will have qualified for the ballot.
If at the end of that process we no longer have 50 counties or 90,704 signatures, that is not necessarily the end of the road. If we have 75% of the required signatures in all 50 counties, we will qualify for a 30 day cure period.
What’s a cure period? It’s an extension! We will be able to contact folks whose signatures were stricken and collect new signatures. At the end of that period, we’ll again turn the signatures into the Secretary of State, and they’ll go through the verification process again. If we have the required signatures after that, we’re on the ballot!
Throughout this process, expect the opposition to do whatever they can to slow us up: legal challenges, challenges to signatures, the works. Naturally, we’re confident in the language and confident in AFLG’s volunteers, but the opposition will pull out every sneaky trick in the book to prevent the people from speaking this November.
They will not succeed.
After that: we campaign for passage and we win.
So what do we need from you?
If we need to make use of a cure period, keep collecting! Use the connections and friendships you’ve developed over the past 5 months to keep pushing. If we hit the cure period, we want to run up the score!
If we don’t need the cure period, CELEBRATE! This is a day for relief and joy. Hug your fellow Arkansans – YOU DID THIS. You got us to this point, and you deserve to pat yourself on the back (understatement of the year).
Because the campaign is just heating up, and we want y’all rested and raring to go! Signatures at this point won’t be necessary, but we’re going to start an education campaign the likes of which the state has never seen. Talk to friends and family, post on social media. The opposition will push disinformation daily. The legislature will do whatever they can to hamper us.
But this is Arkansas, friends. Regnat Populus.
Forward, always, for the future of our state.
