Advocates in Arkansas submitted more than 100,000 signatures to election officials in July. The secretary of state disqualified 14,000 on a technicality, ending Arkansans for Limited Government’s campaign to restore access. (Photo by Tess Vrbin/Arkansas Advocate.)
Most abortion-rights ballot measures succeeded this past year, but November marked the first time since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade that some citizen-led bids to restore access failed.
Organizers with campaigns in Arkansas, Florida, Nebraska and South Dakota spoke with States Newsroom about what went wrong. A few said they’re not giving up the fight, and one group hopes to get the question on the ballot in 2026.
In Arkansas, voters could have had a chance to decide whether to allow the right to an abortion up to 18 weeks post-fertilization, and beyond in cases of rape, incest, fatal fetal anomalies, or to protect patient’s life or physical health.
But the question never made the ballot. The secretary of state disqualified around 14,000 of more than 100,000 signatures submitted by Arkansans for Limited Government, the group behind the proposed constitutional amendment, according to Arkansas Advocate . Measures require 90,704 signatures to make the ballot in the state.