Little Rock, Arkansas — Tuesday morning, July 16, 2024, Arkansans for Limited Government (AFLG) filed a lawsuit in the Arkansas Supreme Court against Secretary of State John Thurston for what the group calls Thurston’s failure to fulfill his constitutional and statutory duties.
Thurston, meanwhile, is standing his ground. He responded to the lawsuit in a letter saying his position remains unchanged.
AFLG’s legal action comes in response to the Secretary’s refusal to count over 101,000 signatures from Arkansas voters who signed the Arkansas Abortion Amendment of 2024 and “unlawfully weaponizing bureaucratic processes to silence their voices,” the group said in a press release. AFLG asks the Court to vacate the Secretary’s determination and order him to begin counting immediately.
“The Secretary’s unlawful rejection of AFLG’s initiative petition prevents the people of Arkansas from exercising their right to adopt, or reject, the Amendment,” the release states. “This Court should correct the Secretary’s error and reaffirm Arkansas’s motto, Regnat Populus, The People Rule.”
AFLG said it provided “substantial” documentation to Thurston’s office demonstrating compliance throughout the signature gathering process and on the day of submission. The lawsuit underscores the Secretary of State’s alleged failure to perform his duty to conduct an initial count of all signatures, as mandated by Arkansas law. “Secretary Thurston’s failure to perform his own verification process constitutes a disregard for the power expressly reserved by the people in the Arkansas Constitution,” AFLG said.
“Our compliance with the law is clear and well-documented. The Secretary of State’s refusal to count valid signatures is an affront to democracy and an attempt to undermine the will of the people,” said AFLG’s executive director, Lauren Cowles.
AFLG said Thurston’s action “violates the clear provisions of the Arkansas Constitution and the Arkansas Code. Consequently, AFLG avails itself of its legal right to challenge the Secretary’s decision at the Arkansas Supreme Court. AFLG is determined to ensure that the voices of over 101,000 Arkansas voters are heard and that the Secretary lawfully executes his duty to count every signature.”
Thurston argues that AFLG failed to turn in all of the required paperwork accompanying the petitions signatures and had not turned in the paperwork at the same time it turned in the signatures.
Discover more from
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
