Arizona abortion access measure has enough signatures to make the ballot, election chief says

A ballot measure that would create a right to an abortion in the Arizona Constitution appears poised for the November ballot after the state's election chief on Monday certified it had enough signatures to qualify.

Arizona for Abortion Access, the campaign backing the ballot measure, announced signature review had been completed and the Arizona Abortion Access Act would appear on the ballot as Proposition 139. That's withstanding any pending and forthcoming lawsuits, however.

“This is a huge win for Arizona voters who will now get to vote YES on restoring and protecting the right to access abortion care, free from political interference, once and for all,” Cheryl Bruce, Arizona for Abortion Access campaign manager, said in a statement.

Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes signed the formal paperwork required to put the act before voters after his office calculated the measure had an estimated 577,971 valid signatures.

Citizen groups proposing constitutional amendments this year needed just shy of 384,000 valid voter signatures to qualify. The groups backing the abortion rights ballot measure built a big buffer to withstand the legally required signature review and court challenges, turning in their estimated 823,685 signatures just over a month ago.

Signature gathering is a herculean task that can cost millions of dollars, and challenges to those signatures have ended numerous bids toward the ballot box. Already this year another campaign to raise the minimum wage and boost pay for tipped workers ended amid a challenge to the number of valid signatures gathered.

Fontes, in a video showing him signing the certificate, said Arizona's citizen initiative process was "one of the purest forms of democracy where people get to make their own laws.

"I'm excited to have been able to certify that," Fontes, a Democrat, said.

Arizona Right to Life, an anti-abortion access group, initially challenged the signatures gathered in support of the abortion ballot measure. But the group later dropped that challenge, admitting their efforts weren't likely to prevent certification.

Still, that lawsuit continues on appeal and needs to be resolved before the measure is guaranteed to be on Arizonans' November ballot.

Arizona Right to Life challenged a description of the ballot measure that was available to voters before they signed the petitions, saying it was confusing and the measure should be kept off the ballot. A Maricopa County judge rejected their claims. The group appealed, and the Arizona Supreme Court has set a schedule to hear written legal arguments on the matter this week.

A ruling is expected by Aug. 22, the deadline for printing ballots.

Reach reporter Stacey Barchenger at [email protected] or 480-416-5669.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Abortion Access Act has enough signatures to make ballot