State of Arkansas

Arkansas Voting Machines Challenge

Arkansas Voter Integrity Initiative v. Thurston

Lawsuit brought by the Arkansas Voter Integrity Initiative (AVII) against Arkansas Secretary of State John Thurston (R), the Arkansas State Board of Election Commissioners and Election Systems and Software LLC, the company “that manufactures all voting machines used in Arkansas elections.” According to their website, AVII is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to eliminate “voting machines that are proven to be hackable and unreliable.” The complaint alleges that Election Systems and Software’s voting machines “fail to comply with state law.” Specifically, the plaintiff argues that voting machines can only be used if they meet the following criteria: they must be “Qualified by an authorized federal agency or national testing and standards laboratory which is acceptable to the Secretary; Approved by the Board; and Selected by the Secretary.” The plaintiff contends that the use of ExpressVote (an electronic voting device) and DS200 (an electronic tabulator) machines violates Arkansas law because “the voter cannot independently verify the votes selected by the voter on the ballot prior to being cast by the voter as the ordinary and common voter cannot read bar codes.” The plaintiff requests that the court enjoin the defendants from using ExpressVote and DS200 machines.

On Sept. 12, 2023, the lawsuit was dismissed. The plaintiffs appealed to the Arkansas Supreme Court which agreed to hear the case.

Case Documents (State court)

Case Documents (Arkansas Supreme Court)

Case Documents (Federal court)

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