Arkansas
Arkansas Secretary of State John Thurston responds to complaint about abortion on ballot rejection: ‘My position remains unchanged’
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The Arkansas secretary of state continues to maintain his rejection of the signatures to place an abortion amendment on the November 2024 ballot was correct.
Secretary of State John Thurston responded to a Thursday letter from Arkansans for Limited Government (AFLG) on Monday, stating “My position remains unchanged.”
At issue are the paperwork accompanying the ballot petition signatures and the use of paid canvassers by AFLG. In this letter Monday, Thurston stated the group had failed to turn in all of the required paperwork accompanying the signatures and had not turned in the paperwork at the same time it turned in the signatures, two points of failure to comply with the law.
Failure on these two points led to AFLG’s submission being rejected, Thurston’s letter stated.
AFLG turned in 101,525 signatures at the secretary of state’s office on the July 5 deadline to place access to abortion before voters on the November ballot. By state law, to place an amendment on the ballot requires 90,704 signatures of voters supporting it, certified by the secretary.
On July 10, Thurston sent a letter to the group stating that its signatures were rejected in accordance with state law. The letter stated that AFLG has used some paid canvassers, but it did not include paperwork naming the canvassers and affirming they had followed the law for gathering signatures.
Because paid canvassers had gathered 14,143 signatures, those were now invalid, the letter stated, meaning AFLG had turned in 87,832 signatures, a number below the required threshold.
AFLG followed up with a letter stating it had submitted the required paperwork in June and stating the Secretary of State is required to count all the signatures while the paperwork is being disputed. Thurston refuted this in the Monday letter, stating that the paperwork must be turned in at the same time as the signatures.
AFLG was contacted for a response to Thurston’s letter, but one has not been received prior to this story being published. If a response is made this story will be updated.
Two rounds of storms possible Tuesday. The morning risk is very low, then a more substantial risk may evolve late in the day
Tonight: Clouds increase with storms north late. Lows in the lower 60s
Tuesday: Low storm chance in the morning with a greater chance late in the day. Highs near 80
Wednesday: Scattered areas of rain and storms. Highs in the mid to upper 60s
Arkansas
$21 million price tag set for Gentry Middle School classroom addition, new Pioneer Arena projects | Arkansas Democrat Gazette
(File photo/Randy Moll/Westside Eagle Observer)
Arkansas
5-Star Center Obinna Ekezie Jr. Reveals MCBB Commitment Between Kentucky, Louisville, Arkansas, More
One of the top basketball prospects in the class of 2027 has made his commitment.
Per On3’s Joe Tipton, 5-star center Obinna Ekezie Jr. is reclassifying to the class of 2026 and will play for Louisville this fall.
Ekezie is considered to be the No. 4 overall player and the No. 2 center in his class by 247Sports’ composite rankings. The Orlando, Florida, native is also the No. 2 player in his state.
The 7-footer had Arkansas, BYU, Kentucky and Maryland in his final group alongside Louisville, but ultimately went with Pat Kelsey and the Cardinals.
“I chose Louisville because it has everything I need in terms of winning and development. I have a great opportunity to develop and showcase my game at both the 4 and 5 alongside Flory Bidunga,” he told Tipton. “Louisville already feels like home to me and we’re going to be an incredibly competitive team. We’re striving to win a National Championship.”
Ekezie, of course, has dreams of playing at the professional level, and he felt moving up to the class of 2026 would help him reach those goals.
“After my high school season, I evaluated the rewards and risks and felt college was the right move for my development,” he said. “I get to practice every day against elite competition and develop at a much faster rate. I want to compete at the highest level and this gives me the best opportunity to grow as a player.”
The Cardinals have had a successful offseason, landing Kansas transfer center Flory Bidunga, Oregon transfer point guard Jackson Shelstad, Iowa transfer forward Alvaro Folgueiras, Arkansas transfer wing Karter Knox and more.
Now, Louisville will add even more talent in Ekezie.
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