Bankers boxes filled with more than 100,000 signatures in support of putting an abortion measure on Novembers ballot were dropped off at the Arkansas State Capitol on Friday. On Wednesday, the state’s attorney government said they did not have the required accompanying documents. Photo courtesy of Arkansans for Limited Government/Facebook
July 11 (UPI) — Arkansas Secretary of State John Thurston has rejected a petition to put an abortion rights measure on November’s ballot over organizers failing to submit all required paperwork.
Arkansans for Limited Government has sought to put an amendment on the general election ballot to enshrine unlimited access to abortion services up to 18 weeks of gestation into the state’s Constitution. On deadline Friday, they wheeled banker boxes containing some 100,000 signatures into the Arkansas State Capitol to qualify.
“Delivery day dump,” it had said last week in confirmation on Facebook. “Feeling overwhelmed by the energy and excitement from everyone who worked so hard to get this done.”
On Wednesday, Thurston, a Republican, said in a letter to the group that its organizers failed to provide a statement identifying paid canvassers by name and another indicating that a copy of the secretary of state’s handbook on initiatives and referenda had been provided to each paid canvasser who had the requirements for obtaining signatures explained to them.
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“You did not submit any statements meeting this requirement. By contrast, other sponsors of initiative petitions complied with this requirement. Therefore, I must reject your submission,” Thorn wrote in the letter.
He continued that even if their failure to submit the documents did not require for their application to be rejected, it would mean that signatures collected by paid canvassers could not be counted, and because of that their application would not meet the required 90,704 signatures.
According to his letter, the group submitted 101,525 signatures, of which 14,143 were collected by paid canvassers. With the reduction, they would have a total 87,382 signatures collected by volunteers, which is 3,222 signatures short.
“Even if I could accept your submission, I would be forced to find that your petition is insufficient on its face for failure to obtain the required 90,704 signatures,” he said.
Arkansans for Limited Government called the disqualification “ridiculous” and that they provided Thurston’s office with a list of their paid canvassers and all required information associated with their employment.
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It said in a late Wednesday statement that they worked with his office “during every step of the process” and it was his office that supplied them with the affidavit paperwork they used.
“At multiple junctures — including on July 5 inside of the Capitol Building — we discussed signature submission requirements with the secretary of state’s staff,” it said.
“Until today, we had no reason not to trust that the paperwork they supplied us was correct and complete.”
It also accused Thurston of making “an unfounded legal interpretation” of Arkansas law in order to declare its application incomplete.
“More than 101,000 Arkansans participated in this heroic act of direct democracy and stood up to loudly proclaim their support for access to healthcare. They deserve better than a state government that seeks to silence them,” it said while vowing to fight the disqualification.
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Meanwhile, Arkansas state Sen. Ben Gilmore, a Republican, declared Wednesday “a great day for life in Arkansas.”
“The secretary of state’s office officially rejected the Arkansas abortion amendment, and it will not appear on the ballot in November,” Gilmore said on X.
“Life is the most basic God-given human right and Arkansas will continue to protect the lives of our unborn children.”
Since the conservative-leaning Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade in June 2022, repealing federal protections for abortion, there has been a movement to protect access to the medical practice via state-level legislation and constitutional amendments.
This year, up to 11 states may have abortion measures on the ballot, according to the non-partisan Kaiser Family Foundation, which is focused on healthcare policy.
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Pro-abortion organizers in Arizona and Nebraska last week also said they had enough signatures to put a similar abortion measure on their states’ November ballots.
The Arkansas Arts Council’s 2025 Small Works on Paper touring exhibition debuts Monday and remains on display through Feb. 16 at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Windgate Center of Art + Design, 2801 S. University Ave., Little Rock.
A reception, 5-7 p.m. Jan. 30, will feature presentations by the 35 Arkansas artists whose 40 pieces, no larger than 18-by-24 inches, are part of the exhibition. Refreshments will be served.
Admission to the reception and the gallery is free. Gallery hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, 2-5 p.m. Sunday.
The visual art exhibition is in its 38th year, spotlighting Arkansas artists who are members of the Arkansas Artist Registry, an online gallery maintained by the Arkansas Arts Council. Most works will be available for sale with all proceeds benefiting the artists. The exhibition will tour nine venues statewide.
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This year’s juror, New Jersey-based artist Mario A. Robinson, reviewed more than 200 entries and chose the work of three artists — Jennifer Barnett and Derek Slagle, both of Little Rock, and Richard Stephens of Hot Springs — for purchase awards that will become part of the Small Works on Paper permanent collection. The artists receive cash awards that are equivalent to the value of their artwork.
“Weird Weather,” acrylic painting by Susan Chambers of Little Rock; “Good Days,” acrylic on newspaper by Alexia Lams of Pine Bluff; “Offerings,” watercolor and thread on paper by Rhaelene Lowther of Magnolia; “Hillside Hives,” pastel and graphite on brown paper by David Mudrinich of Russellville; and “The Old Neighborhood,” pastel by Dennis McCann of Maumelle, are part of the Arkansas Arts Council’s 2025 Small Works on Paper touring exhibition, debuting Monday and on display through Feb. 16 at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Windgate Center of Art + Design. (Special to the Democrat-Gazette)
The exhibition will be on display:
◼️ March 3-26 at the River Valley Arts Center, 1001 E. St., Russellville (rivervalleyartscenter.org)
◼️ April 3-30 at the Walton Arts Center’s Community Creative Center, 505 W. Spring St., Fayetteville (communitycreativecenter.org)
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◼️ May 5-28 at the Ouachita Center, University of Arkansas Rich Mountain, 1100 College Drive, Mena (uarichmountain.edu/index.html)
◼️ June 6-28 at the Arts & Science Center for Southeast Arkansas, 701 S. Main St., Pine Bluff (artx3.org/home)
◼️ July 11-Aug. 22 at the Delta Cultural Center, 141 Cherry St., Helena (arkansasheritage.com/delta-cultural-center)
◼️ Sept. 4-29 at Southern Arkansas University’s Brinson Art Gallery, 100 E. University St., Magnolia (saumag.edu)
◼️ Oct. 6-28 at the Glassblock Gallery, Taylor Library, University of Arkansas at Monticello, 346 University Ave., Monticello (uamont.edu)
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◼️ Nov. 4-22 at Harding University’s Stevens Art Center, 915 E. Market Ave., Searcy (harding.edu).
For more information, call (501) 324-9767, email at cheri.leffew@arkansas.gov or visit ArkansasArts.org.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Due to the ongoing winter storm sweeping through the Natural State, DoorDash has activated its Severe Weather Protocol and temporarily suspended operations in Little Rock and various parts of the Natural State.
According to a release Friday night, the precautionary measure comes as the winter storms deliver hazardous conditions across the city, including heavy snowfall and strong winds.
Cities with suspended operations include Little Rock, North Little Rock, Conway, Pine Bluff, Jacksonville, Cabot, Searcy, Malvern, Lonoke, Heber Springs, Star City, Clinton, Rison and Sheridan.
“With heavy snowfall and low visibility, the snowstorm is a serious threat to our community, and we’ve taken decisive action by activating our Severe Weather Protocol,” DoorDash spokesperson Julian Crowley said. “We deeply appreciate the patience and understanding of Dashers, merchants and consumers, and will resume operations as soon as it’s safe to do so.”
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Officials said they will continue to monitor conditions on the ground and will communicate additional changes to their operations as needed.
Gainesville, Fla. – The Florida Gators men’s basketball team’s next destination is Fayetteville, Ark., as they’ll take on the Arkansas Razorbacks (11-4, 0-2) on Saturday for their third SEC matchup of the season.
Florida is currently sitting at 14-1 on the season and 1-1 in conference play. They opened their SEC slate with a nail-biting loss to the Kentucky Wildcats, losing 106-100 in Lexington.
However, the Gators were able to avenge this loss with one of the most dominant wins in men’s basketball history on Tuesday over No. 1 Tennessee. They trounced the Volunteers 73-43 in the O’Dome, marking the Gators’ first regular-season win over an AP No. 1-ranked team in program history and the biggest win over a No. 1-ranked team in the NCAA since 1968.
But enough about what Florida has done this season, let’s shift the focus to their opponents, the Razorbacks, and see who they are.
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Arkansas’ season started out nice with a win over Lipscomb. However, it wouldn’t be the same for them in their second game of the season against then-ranked No. 8 Baylor, as they found themselves on the losing end of a tightly contested battle.
Then, following a good stretch for the team in red, they were tasked with the current No. 13 in the AP Poll, Illinois, and things wouldn’t go so well for new Razorbacks head coach John Calipari. His team was outclassed in this game 90-77, which ended their winning streak at four.
Arkansas did make amends with their fans a few games later, though. While participating in the Jimmy V Classic, they matched up with then-ranked No. 14 Michigan, who they narrowed past 89-87.
This win over the Wolverines helped maintain a three-game win streak that would eventually turn into a six-game streak. However, since SEC play started for the Razorbacks, they are 0-2 with losses to Tennessee and Ole Miss, who are currently ranked in the Top 25 AP Poll.
These pair of losses put Arkansas at just a 1-4 record against teams on their schedule to have been ranked or that are currently ranked.
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While it was a complete roster overhaul for Calipari and the Razorbacks this offseason that was fueled by the transfer portal, their biggest grab has been from the high school ranks.
They added highly ranked players like Johnell Davis, Adou Thiero and Jonas Aidoo all from the portal, but it’s former five-star guard Boogie Fland who’s been arguably the best player for the Razorbacks this season.
Fland is averaging 15.5 points, 5.9 assists and 3.6 rebounds per game through 15 games this season. He is also connecting on 35.7 percent of his threes, which shows he’s more than just an inside scorer. Additionally, his 5.9 assists rank 24th among his competitors.
But in these first two SEC games, Fland is just 10-for-35 from the field and 3-for-17 from deep.
If the Gators can’t keep him in check like he’s been over these last two, then it might be a long afternoon for the visitors on Saturday.
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Despite bringing in tons of talent that should’ve resulted in a great offense, Arkansas has been anything but that.
They currently rank inside the bottom five teams in the SEC in scoring offense, averaging 79.4 points per game. They do have two players scoring at least 15.0 points per game, but that’s pretty much it. Outside of Thiero (16.9) and Fland, they only have one other player in double figures (DJ Wagner, 10.5).
Moreover, if this becomes a free-throw-dominated affair, the Gators shouldn’t be too worried about the Razorbacks’ performance at the line. They are shooting 71.1 percent from the charity stripe, which is good for 12th in the league.
And, lastly, they have little to no presence on the glass. They are the worst team in the SEC in offensive rebounding, and they are 13th out of 16 teams in overall rebounding. These are two areas where the Gators dominate, and if things play out like they have been this season, then the visitors should outmuscle their counterparts.
This game will be televised on Saturday at 4 pm on ESPN.
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