By John Lyon
Arkansas News Bureau

LITTLE ROCK — Secure Arkansas grossly miscounted the number of signatures it submitted in support of a ballot proposal on illegal immigration and did not qualify to put the measure before voters in November, Secretary of State Charlie Daniels said today.

Last week, the grassroots group submitted what it said in an affidavit were 78,211 signatures in support of a proposed constitutional amendment to bar illegal immigrants from receiving most state services. The group needed 77,468 signatures of registered Arkansas voters to place the measure on the Nov. 2 general election ballot.

At the time the signatures were submitted, the secretary of state’s office said it would begin validating the signatures, and if the number of validated signatures fell short of the 77,468 threshold, the group would have 30-day “cure period” to make up the difference.

Today, Daniels’ office said an accounting firm counted the signatures submitted by Secure Arkansas and found 67,542 — more than 10,000 fewer signatures than the group stated it was submitting in its affidavit.

The firm only counted the signatures and did not invalidate any of them, said Sandra McGrew, spokeswoman for the secretary of state’s office.

“Since they did not have the required amount to begin with, then there is no cure period,” McGrew said.

Jeannie Burlsworth, chairman of Secure Arkansas, declined to comment today except to say that “we’re waiting for our attorney to decide if there is a next move.”