The abortion issue is at the top of the consideration list for many voters as the November election nears, and several states are currently in legal battles with various organizations regarding the controversial matter. 

One of those states is Arkansas. The state recently shot down a pro-abortion ballot initiative that would have enshrined abortion in certain circumstances as a state constitutional right.

However, according to Politico, the Arkansas Supreme Court backed the state in turning down the initiative over a paperwork issue, ultimately siding with Attorney General Tim Griffin (R).

The decision elicited praise and criticism from various anti- and pro-abortion groups and politicians.

What happened?

In the wake of the overturning of Roe v. Wade, Arkansas has some of the strictest abortion laws on the books within the country.

Pro-abortion groups have worked overtime to change that, and right as they were on the cusp of adding a ballot initiative that would have significantly altered the state's abortion laws, the state shot it down over an administrative error regarding signature collection.

A 4--3 decision from the Arkansas Supreme Court buried the initiative, with the justices writing, "The petitioners failed to comply with the statutory filing requirements for paid canvassers,” the justices said. “The failure is fatal."

Politico noted:

The group Arkansans for Limited Government submitted more than 100,000 signatures earlier this month for a ballot measure that would legalize abortion for any reason up to 20 weeks of gestation and allow the procedure later in pregnancy in cases of rape, incest, threats to the woman’s health or life, or severe fetal abnormalities.

While the effort to gather signatures to get the measure on the ballot was mostly undertaken by volunteers, the group also used paid canvassers.

Politico explained what happened:

State rules require groups collecting signatures for a ballot measure to submit a statement, signed by the sponsor, listing all paid canvassers and testifying that they were properly trained and provided a handbook of state policies. The legal fight involved a clash over who counts as a “sponsor,” among other provisions.

Backlash

Liberal justices on the state's high court and the group behind the effort expressed anger in the wake of the decision.

"This requirement was made up out of whole cloth,” the dissenting state justices wrote. “Regnat Populus — The People Rule — is the motto of Arkansas. Today’s decision strips every Arkansan of this power."

The group behind the ballot initiative argued that the state should have given it a "cure" period to fix any oversights or errors.

No doubt, this is not the last abortion-related legal fight heading into November.