Arkansas's ACLU Affiliate Says if Act Passed, It Will Sue...

With Arkansas's act banning adoption by same-sex couples likely to pass, the Arkansas affiliate of the ACLU said before the election that if the act was adopted it would sue to strike it down on constitutional grounds.

In slightly good news...

Early votes in Pulasi County (about 40 percent of the expected total) went 55-45 against Act 1, the only county in the state so far to register a majority against the act.

Early Voting in Arkansas Favors Act 1

Early voting in Arkansas shows voters favoring proposed Initiated Act 1, to prohibit foster parenting and adoption by unmarried couples.

With 43 of 2,566 precincts reporting, the vote for the act was 71,030 to 49,660 against. The vote represents primarily early voting across a broad number of Arkansas counties, particularly in traditionally conservative areas of the state.

The vote did not include tallies from Pulaski County, the state's largest, which typically has a more progressive voting record. It was one of only two counties to oppose the constitutional amendment prohibiting same-sex marriage and civil unions in Arkansas, for example. But the margin of early voting suggests Pulaski's vote might not be sufficient to overcome support for the measure in other parts of the state.

The measure was put on the ballot by a petition drive led by the Arkansas Family Council, an affiliate of Colorado evangelist James Dobson's political organization. It was opposed by a coalition of medical and  civil liberties groups, among others. (Max Brantley)

The Back Story to Arkansas's Proposed Adoption Ban

California, Florida, and Arizona may have marriage bans on the ballot today, but in Arkansas, voters are deciding on an adoption ban, which would outlaw adoptions and foster parenting by any unmarried "cohabiting" couple. (In case you're wondering, the state already has a constitutional amendment that prohibits same-sex marriage and civil unions.)

As Advocate contributor Max Brantley, editor of weekly alternative paper The Arkansas Times, describes proposed initiative Act No.1, better known as Act 1, is an outgrowth from an earlier battle over a state rule that barred gay people from being foster parents. Though the rule was struck down in court in 2006, the state's Child Welfare Board later came up with a new rule prohibiting foster parenting by cohabiting couples who are not married.

Religious conservatives, led by the Family Council of Arkansas (a group associated with Focus on the Family), tried to make the rule the law in the 2007 legislative session. But a powerful coalition anchored by child welfare advocates managed to defeat the bill in the House with the help of state representative Kathy Webb (D-Little Rock) -- the legislature's only openly gay member. So the bill's backers took to the streets, garnering 66,000 signatures and qualifying for the 2008 ballot.

And that's where we are today. Except the Family Council's efforts appear to be all for naught, as 55% of Arkansans oppose Act 1, with only 38% in favor of it, according to the latest University of Arkansas poll. We'll know for certain after polls close in the state at 8:30 EST. Brantley says to look at the returns in Pulaski County, Arkansas's largest, which should be announced quickly. The county will surely defeat the measure, but Brantley says to watch the margin, which will have a big effect on the statewide vote totals.

And if Act 1 is indeed defeated? "That's a huge story, by my lights, if a red state turns back an antigay ballot measure," Brantley says.

Arkansas's Act 1 Goes "Too Far"

From HRC staffer Sarah Birnie, who's working on the ground with Arkansas Families First against Initiated Act 1, the ballot initiative that would ban unmarried cohabiting couples in the state from becoming adoptive or foster parents:

Today we'll have people at over 100 different polling places throughout Arkansas. So far we are getting great responses from voters. They understand that the Family Council has taken this too far, as it would limit homes for kids. Once we explain to voters that this would hurt Arkansan children, they tend to put any bias aside in order to do what's best. As one woman put it, "Every kid needs parents -- no matter what."

Follow the Arkansas election here.