Arkansas Supreme Court upholds rejection of abortion rights petitions, blocking ballot measure

The Arkansas Supreme Court has upheld the state’s rejection of signature petitions in favor putting an abortion rights initiative on the ballot. The ruling Thursday dashes abortion rights supporters’ hopes of putting the measure before voters in the predominantly Republican state in November. Petition organizers had submitted more than 101,000 signatures. But election officials said the group did not comply with a law regarding the documentation of paid signature gatherers. The group’s proposal would have scaled back a state abortion ban that took effect when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade in 2022.