The ban on electronic signatures for voter registration in Arkansas is back in place. The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals issued an administrative stay of the preliminary injunction issued August 29 by a federal judge. It followed a legal challenge by the nonprofit group Get Loud Arkansas.
The group’s lawsuit challenged the so-called “wet signature rule,” which requires voters to sign a voter registration form with a pen. The Arkansas State Board of Election Commissioners (SBEC) issued the rule on April 23. The rule came about after Get Loud members helped register voters using electronic signatures. Critics describe the ban as a form of voter suppression.
![Arkansas is just one of 7 states that do not offer online voter registration, in which an electronic signature is used. The six other states include Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming. [*North Dakota is also highlighted on the map. It does not offer online registration because voter registration is not required in the state.]](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/1c11c2e/2147483647/strip/true/crop/932x699+0+0/resize/840x630!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F5a%2Fac%2F45fddd794f8695bc27f587b6d898%2Felectronic-signature-map-aarp.png)
According to an Associated Press report, in April, the state Board of Election Commissioners Director Chris Madison stated the rule was needed to create uniformity across the state. Some county clerks had previously accepted electronic signatures and others had not.
Arkansas is just one of 7 states with such a ban. The six other states include Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming. The deadline to register for the November 5th presidential election is October 7th in Arkansas.
