Arkansas secretary of state touts election security, calls for changes to ballot initiatives process
Arkansas Secretary of State Cole Jester on Monday declared Arkansas has “the most secure elections in the country” but cast doubt on the security of absentee voting and the integrity of citizen-led ballot initiatives.
By: Tess Vrbin
Arkansas Advocate
Arkansas Secretary of State Cole Jester on Monday declared Arkansas has “the most secure elections in the country” but cast doubt on the security of absentee voting and the integrity of citizen-led ballot initiatives.
Jester, who took office Jan. 2, called for a “top-to-bottom security review” of Arkansas’ election procedures on Jan. 24 and presented his findings at a press conference Monday. The report his office released Monday labeled four of its seven focus areas — in-person voting, county outreach, cybersecurity and physical security — with an “A” grade. The report labeled voter registration “B+” and absentee voting “B-.”
The initiative petition process received the lowest grade with a “D,” and Jester said the review found “thousands of fraudulent signatures” on petitions for ballot measures.
He and his deputy secretary and chief legal counsel, Nathan Lee, expressed support for several bills moving through the Legislature that would add more regulations to the initiative process.
“Right now there’s little to disincentivize someone from maybe misrepresenting what might be on the initiative petition when trying to collect signatures,” Lee said.
Sen. Kim Hammer, R-Benton, is sponsoring three bills that a House committee will consider Monday afternoon:
- Senate Bill 207 would require canvassers to disclose that petition fraud is a Class A misdemeanor, which is punishable by up to 1 year in prison.
- Senate Bill 208 would require canvassers to request a photo ID from potential signers.
- Senate Bill 211 would require canvassers to file an affidavit with the secretary of state certifying they complied with the Arkansas Constitution and state laws related to canvassing, perjury, forgery and fraudulent practices in the procurement of petition signatures. Signatures submitted without the affidavit would not be counted.
All three bills passed the Senate Wednesday, as did their emergency clauses, which would allow them to go into effect immediately upon Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ signature.
Two more bills sponsored by Hammer passed the Senate, though their emergency clauses did not. Senate Bill 209 would disqualify signatures collected by canvassers if the secretary of state finds “by a preponderance of evidence” that they violated state law collecting the signatures. Senate Bill 210 would require potential signers to read the ballot title of a petition or have it read aloud to them in the presence of a canvasser. It would also make it a misdemeanor for a canvasser to accept a signature from people who have not read the ballot title or had it read aloud to them in the presence of a canvasser.
Read more here.
