The abortion issue is set to dominate the 2024 election, from the White House down to state ballots, which is why some groups and officials are trying to make big moves ahead of November.
According to THV11, Arkansas state officials filed a briefing with the Arkansas Supreme Court requesting that it throw out a lawsuit regarding a briefing over a proposed amendment to the state's abortion laws.
Arkansas, like other deeply red states, has strict abortion laws on the books in the wake of the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
Arkansans for Limited Government (AFLG) initially filed a proposed abortion amendment, but are now suing over the proposed amendment being thrown out by the secretary of state.
Lawyers for AFLG claim that Secretary of State John Thurston "unlawfully rejected" their November ballot proposal, and have taken legal action as a result.
The outlet noted:
AFLG continues to assert in the lawsuit that they followed state law, turned in required documents multiple times, and should have been allowed additional time to provided any other documents needed.
The group claims that the state's Secretary of State office isn't treating all petitions equally, and provided an example from another group's petition.
The outlet added:
The group added to their case an email sent by the Secretary of State's Office to a group sponsoring a medical marijuana amendment.
The email said that the group failed to comply with submitting a list of paid canvassers, but will apply this during the cure period.
AFLG lawyers contend that the issue at hand is essentially the exact same, but they're not receiving the same opportunity for a cure period.
The briefing filed by Arkansas state officials wants the state's high court to throw out the case entirely, arguing "that the court doesn't have jurisdiction over the proposed ballot petition."
State officials also argue that Secretary of State Thurston followed proper protocols when he rejected the proposed amendment last month.
Thurston argued that the paperwork turned in by the group was missing key data regarding paid canvassers who worked to obtain signatures for the proposed ballot amendment.
Depending on how litigation plays out, if the group is able to get the proposal on the ballot, voters will decide whether or not to "expand abortion access up to 18 weeks as well as in instances of rape, incest, or fatal fetal anomaly."
Only time will tell what happens.
