Arkansas nonprofit sues election officials over new voter registration signature rule

Get Loud Arkansas hosted a rally outside the state Capitol on April 23, 2024 following the Arkansas Board of Election Commissioners' decision to limit the use of electronic signatures on voter registration applications. (Sonny Albarado/Arkansas Advocate)

A voter advocacy group filed a lawsuit Wednesday that challenges a new rule requiring Arkansas voter registration applications to be signed with a “wet signature” and asks a judge to block its enforcement.

Get Loud Arkansas filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas against Secretary of State John Thurston, the Arkansas State Board of Election Commissioners and the county clerks of Benton, Pulaski and Washington counties.

Additional plaintiffs include Vote.Org, a national voter registration-focused nonprofit, and two Arkansans who had their voter registration applications rejected because they had an electronic signature — Nikki Pastor and Trinity “Blake” Loper.

“Get Loud Arkansas’s work is rooted in our unwavering, audacious commitment that every voice in every corner of our state will be heard at the ballot box,” executive director and former state Sen. Joyce Elliott said in a statement. “We will face down any act of suppression that creates roadblocks to the fundamental right to vote. Generational disenfranchisement must be relegated to the past, where it belongs.”

Secretary of State spokesman Chris Powell said the agency is reviewing the complaint and has no comment at this time.

Lawmakers approve voter registration signature rule

State lawmakers in May approved an emergency rule that permits electronic signatures on voter registration applications only when they’re completed at certain state agencies.

The Arkansas Board of Election Commissioners gave initial approval to the rule, which requires paper registration applications to include a “wet signature,” meaning an applicant signs with a pen.

The new rule directly impacts the work of Get Loud Arkansas, which used an online portal to help register around 500 voters in 63 counties between January and May. State election officials assured the nonprofit that this process was lawful, according to the complaint.

But after media outlets reported on Get Loud Arkansas’ registration efforts, the secretary of state changed his stance that electronic signatures should be treated no differently than wet signatures, and the State Board of Election Commissioners issued its emergency rule, according to plaintiffs.

“To make matters worse, Arkansas officials have refused to clarify whether registered voters who previously used an electronic signature to register will have their registrations canceled, despite repeated requests from GLA, leaving many currently-registered Arkansas voters in limbo,” the complaint states.

Arkansas has one of the lowest voter registration and voter turnout rates in the country, but plaintiffs say Get Loud Arkansas “saw significantly higher rates of successful voter registration” in the short time its online tool was available.

While the wet signature rule is new, plaintiffs contend it’s similar to “suppressive tactics” that prompted Congress to enact the materiality provision in the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which seeks to eliminate opportunities for discriminatory practices in voter registration “by prohibiting the disqualification of an individual because of immaterial errors or omissions in papers or acts” required for voting.

Plaintiffs argue the new rule violates the materiality provision and the court should block its enforcement.

“Arkansas has erected an arbitrary restriction that is irrelevant in determining voter qualifications but denies eligible citizens the right to vote,” the complaint states. “This Court should enforce the guarantees of the Civil Rights Act and enjoin the enforcement of Arkansas’s wet signature rule.”

The wet signature rule went into effect May 4. The emergency rule, which did not require public comment, is effective for 120 days. The Arkansas Board of Election Commissioners is working on a permanent rule that would require a 30-day comment period and a public hearing.

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