Arkansans Can’t Register to Vote Electronically per 8th Circuit

In a loss for Arkansas voters, a federal appeals court paused a lower court order that blocked a handwritten signature requirement for voter registration, meaning Arkansans who used electronic signatures to register online will be rejected. Voter registration in Arkansas ends on Monday, Oct. 7.

This decision from the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals also means the state’s so-called “wet signature” rule, which was set to take effect permanently on Sept. 2, is back in place. 

The 8th Circuit ruling reverses a lower district court decision from Obama-appointed Judge Timothy L. Brooks, who in August granted a request to block the rule from Get Loud Arkansas (GLA), Vote.org and two voters.

The groups sued Republican Secretary of State John Thurston in June over the wet signature rule, which the complaint calls an “arbitrary restriction” passed by the election board to prevent eligible residents from getting registered to vote.

State lawmakers in May approved an emergency rule from the Arkansas Board of Election Commissioners requiring Arkansans to submit their voter registration forms with a handwritten signature with pen and ink.  

The requirement, the complaint says, was enacted in response to an online tool GLA created to help get more Arkansans registered to vote — with a focus on “young and minority citizens.”

GLA’s tool enabled prospective voters to complete a voter registration application using a computer or mobile device, allowing them to sign forms electronically rather than by hand. “Arkansas’s election officials even assured GLA that this online process was lawful,” the complaint said.

But after hearing about the tool’s success in registering hundreds of young and minority voters, Thurston reversed course. The secretary recommended “for the first time that counties reject electronic signatures on voter registration applications,” the complaint says. 

After Thurston’s recommendation, the State Board of Election Commissioners followed suit, the complaint says, disregarding earlier advice that the tool was legally sound and issuing an emergency rule prohibiting electronic signatures.

“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 plaintiffs allege the new pen-on-paper signature rule — also known as a “wet signature” requirement — violates the Materiality Provision of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which protects eligible voters from disenfranchisement based on minor errors. Brooks agreed that the rule likely violates the law.

Thurston and other state election officials have argued the rule enhances security in the election process and helps prevent fraud.

In their 8th Circuit brief, Thurston’s attorneys implied the rule was passed to ensure clerks are processing voter registration applications consistently. Ahead of November’s election, the brief said, the board learned that some clerks were accepting electronic signatures, while others were not. 

The defendants also argued Brooks’s ruling “offends the Purcell principle, which generally disfavors last minute changes to election rules.” 

“With the voter registration deadline looming on October 7, 2024,” the defendants said, “the confusion the District Court’s injunction threatens to create is ongoing.”

Litigation will now continue in the 8th Circuit.

Read the 8th Circuit ruling here.

Last update, Aug. 30

A federal judge dealt a victory to Arkansas voters yesterday after ruling that election officials must accept online voter registration applications signed with digital or electronic signatures for the upcoming election.

At a hearing on Thursday, Obama-appointed Judge Timothy L. Brooks ruled in favor of Get Loud Arkansas (GLA), Vote.org and individuals who filed a lawsuit challenging an emergency rule from the Arkansas Board of Election Commissioners that imposed a handwritten signature requirement for voter registration. 

The Arkansas Times reported that Brooks ruled from the bench yesterday after acknowledging that the parties are “somewhat under the gun” ahead of Arkansas’ Oct. 7 voter registration deadline. Brooks added that he expects to issue a more detailed written order in the coming days.

According to the lawsuit filed in June, the board implemented the rule in response to an “about-face” by Arkansas Secretary of State John Thurston (R), who had initially advised Get Loud Arkansas that its new online electronic voter registration tool was lawful. 

But after hearing about the success of the new tool in registering young and minority voters, Thurston abruptly changed course and urged the board to issue an emergency rule that would require the rejection of electronically signed online registration applications, the complaint explained. 

As the suit underscored, Thurston’s move was especially concerning given that Arkansas has the lowest voter registration rate and one of the lowest voter turnout rates in the country, with voter participation especially low among young and Black Arkansans.  

The plaintiffs alleged the new pen-on-paper signature rule — also known as a “wet signature” requirement — violates the Materiality Provision of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which protects otherwise eligible voters from disenfranchisement based on trivial errors. 

Per the Arkansas Times, Brooks agreed the emergency wet signature rule — which the board planned to implement as a permanent rule starting Sept. 1 — likely violates the Materiality Provision. 

Opponents of the wet signature rule argue that it makes voter registration more difficult for those who lack access to a printer or postal services — including individuals with disabilities, young people, senior citizens and residents living in rural areas. 

Meanwhile, Thurston and other state election officials maintained in court filings that the rule provides “greater security in the election process” and helps “prevent fraudulent voting practices” without citing any evidence of such issues. 

Lawsuits challenging wet signature requirements in Florida and Georgia are currently ongoing in federal courts. 

Following Brook’s ruling in the Arkansas case, litigation will continue to determine whether the state will be permanently prohibited from imposing a wet signature rule for voter registration in all future election cycles.  

Learn more about the case here.