The State Board of Election Commissioners issued a declaratory order Tuesday ruling that e-signatures on voter registration forms are not acceptable in Arkansas, unless the forms are filled out at certain government agencies.
The change marks another way Arkansas officials have limited the ways residents can register to vote.
Commissioners unanimously approved an amended emergency rule and a declaratory order during a quick meeting Tuesday. The amendment was brought forward by commissioner Bilenda Harris-Ritter, and she added a legal reference to the final bullet point in the rule.
Commissioners didn’t discuss the rule or the order, despite a healthy crowd of onlookers who seemed eager for a show. The commissioners came, they voted, they left.
Arkansas is one of a handful of states left in the country to prohibit online voter registration, and the restrictions the State Board of Election Commissioners approved take things a step further. They said voter registration application forms can only be filled out and signed electronically at the DMV or a revenue office. All other registration forms must be signed with a “wet signature,” which means the paper copy physically needs ink on it.
The declaratory order also prohibits the use of technology to fill out applications except in specific circumstances and stated that county clerks can’t accept applications with e-signatures unless received from a revenue office. (Read the order in full here.)
These concerns didn’t appear out of thin air. Republican officials in March caught wind of the success of a local voter registration organization, and they started questioning the organization’s reliance on e-signatures for application forms completed online.
Get Loud Arkansas, which is led by former state Sen. Joyce Elliott, used a page on its website to break down the official state voter registration application into separate fields. Information entered by voting hopefuls would then be applied to the state-provided voter registration application form and printed with an e-signature from the applicant. Get Loud’s staff would then mail or carry the completed forms to county clerks. Hundreds of people, especially young people, used Get Loud Arkansas’s easy voter registration strategy before troubles arose.
Secretary of State John Thurston’s office first opposed the organization’s efforts in March. Despite initially advising Get Loud that using e-signatures was probably fine, Thurston advised county clerks to reject voter registrations with electronic signatures.
Earlier this month, Attorney General Tim Griffin weighed in on the matter with an opinion in response to concerns from Thurston. The opinion supported the validity of e-signatures, but said a third-party organization using a digital platform to collect voter registration information might not follow state law.
The election commissioners’ move is the latest in the string of challenges to Get Loud’s efforts. Get Loud stayed the course and has made pivot after pivot to create an easier voter registration application process.
At a press conference immediately following the vote, Elliott said she thought officials have not been confused about the service the organization offered, but rather that there’s been “deliberate voter suppression.”
Though Get Loud is a nonpartisan organization, Elliott said the result of state officials’ actions has had a direct impact on specific groups of voters. Young people, residents who live in rural communities and people of color have been disproportionately affected, Elliott said.
“So whether they meant to [suppress votes] or not, that’s the result,” she said. “And nobody should be OK with that result.”
The process Get Loud created helped bring down a barrier to voter registration in Arkansas, Elliott said. The online form was separated into clear, distinct fields that people could fill out easily on their phones. The form alerted the user if a field was incorrect. It was available in multiple languages, and applicants could sign with their finger, like how people likely do every day in their 21st-century lives.
“What we were doing was indeed a game changer,” Elliott said. “There is no doubt about that. Somebody didn’t like the game being changed.”
The online application form was removed from Get Loud’s website following the day’s meetings. Elliott said the decision is in the best interest of the voters “until we can get some clarity from somebody who is going to keep their word.”
Pulaski County clerk Terri Hollingsworth, who voiced her support of the platform early on, sat with Elliott at the press conference and said she was disappointed with the changes voted on Tuesday.
“I will always stand on the side of the voter,” Hollingsworth said. “I’m an advocate, and I want to make sure the process is accessible. Right now, these rules, for me, leave more questions than we have answers.”
Hollingsworth expects there to be an impact on the Pulaski County clerk’s office because of the new rule, but she said she isn’t sure yet what that will look like. She also said she was curious what the ramifications would be for clerks who didn’t follow the new rule, though Hollingsworth said she would follow the law.
The @ARSecofState and state election commission just carried out an unprecedented attack on
— Get Loud, Arkansas! (@GetLoudArkansas) April 23, 2024
Arkansas voters. Learn more and help us fight back through the courts: https://t.co/aVSl8Hy73u
Get Loud’s attorney was also at the press conference. Elliott said the group was considering filing a lawsuit, but a decision hasn’t been made yet. The organization launched a fundraiser this afternoon to cover costs of challenging the restrictive measures, “to halt the attacks on our democracy and protect the integrity of the voter registration process.”
Get Loud is hosting a voter rights rally at 5:15 p.m. on the state Capitol steps today.