Supporters of a proposed change to the state constitution in Arkansas gathered in the state Capitol on Friday afternoon to show their support for expanding access to abortion. They cheered as movers brought in boxes full of petitions to put the amendment to a vote in November.

The group behind the proposed change announced on Friday that they had gathered more than the minimum number of signatures needed from counties across the state.

They delivered over 100,000 signatures from 53 counties, surpassing the required 90,704 signatures from 50 counties, to the Secretary of State’s office before the 5 p.m.

deadline. The measure will need to be officially certified by the secretary of state and is expected to face legal challenges before it can be presented to voters in November.

The group expressed gratitude to voters and emphasized their belief that healthcare is a personal and private matter in a statement on Friday. The proposed amendment would prevent government entities from restricting abortion services within 18 weeks of fertilization. It would also allow abortion services in cases of rape, incest, fatal fetal anomalies, or to protect the pregnant person’s life or physical health.

Additionally, it would nullify any existing state laws that conflict with it. Abortion has been illegal in Arkansas since the U.S.

Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, except in cases where it is necessary to save the pregnant person’s life.

Supporters of the amendment held signs with slogans such as “Trust women,” “The people rule,” and “Arkansans know best.” They chanted phrases like “This is what democracy looks like” and “I know my body” as movers brought in more boxes of signatures. One activist and canvasser for the amendment said she was holding back tears during the delivery, especially since roughly 20,000 signatures had been gathered since Monday.

She described it as an overwhelming sense of accomplishment and expressed hope for Arkansas’s future.

Arkansans for Limited Government was approximately 10,000 signatures short of the minimum requirement at the beginning of the week, but made a strong effort to gather last-minute signatures, including on Independence Day when an email claiming to be from the organization caused confusion by stating no more signatures were needed.

AFLG promptly informed supporters that the misleading email was not from them and encouraged people to continue signing petitions.

Supporters of the Arkansas Abortion Amendment have encountered several challenges throughout the campaign, including a “Decline to Sign” effort encouraging voters not to sign petitions for the amendment. The effort was led by anti-abortion groups Arkansas Right to Life and the Family Council, the latter of which posted on its website a list of 79 individuals paid by AFLG to collect signatures.

AFLG referred to the post as attempted intimidation; the Family Council has since removed the list from the post but has kept it publicly available on its political action committee website. Acquiring and publishing the list is legal under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act.