Arkansas Bills Adding Restrictions to the Voting Process Goes to the Governor’s Desk

Arkansas Bills Adding Restrictions to the Voting Process Goes to the Governor’s Desk

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One of the more controversial bills, called by opponents the bill “no water bottles for voters”, would ban people from entering the perimeter of a polling station unless they vote – giving food or water to voters in some cases a crime. incidents. Another measure would prohibit clerks from sending unsolicited ballot papers to absentees to voters, while imposing a strict signature requirement for ballot papers.

Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s office told CNN on Wednesday that he was reviewing the measures.

A new version of the left-wing Brennan Center for Justice at New York University found that 361 bills with restrictions restricting suffrage had been tabled in 47 states since March 24 – as more state legislators work to gain access to the mood to limit.

Voting rights activists said the bills pose additional barriers to voting, which would have an exorbitant impact on voters and colored voters with low incomes and disabilities.

“What we see in Arkansas is the most dangerous attack on voting rights since the Jim Crow era,” said Holly Dickson, executive director of the ACLU of Arkansas. “These bills not only make it harder to vote, they also make it easier for partisan politicians to interfere with local election administrators – something that could have disastrous consequences for democracy. These bills will make it harder for all voters – of all political streaks – to make their voices heard. ‘

“We call on Governor Hutchinson to listen to the concerns raised by Arkansans across the political spectrum and to veto these bills against the electorate,” Dickson said.

In Arkansas, there are additional measures that will restrict access to the ballot paper currently moving through both chambers, as well as a handful that will improve access to the ballot.

Republican Senate Kim Hammer, one of the main sponsors of the measures, told CNN on Wednesday that the bill was about “protecting the integrity of the vote” and that it was not based on the loss of former President Donald Trump in November. not, which gave rise to unfounded claims. of voter fraud that led to the uprising of the U.S. Capitol on January 6th.

“It’s taken from real examples that happened here in the state,” Hammer said. He pointed to a controversial state race in November in which a current Democratic lawmaker filed his case, arguing that errors in the counting of absent votes by local officials led to it. loss of a freshman Republican lawmaker. Legal challenges for the loss were eventually dismissed.

Hammer said he expects Hutchinson to approve the bills, pointing out that the legislature worked with local election officials to draft the measures.

“I can see no reason why the governor should not sign it, given the collaborative effort that has been there to advance these bills,” he added.

Bills make changes to the absent and personal voting process

Senate Bill 486, which opponents call the bill “no water bottles for voters,” went out of the Arkansas House in a 74-23 vote Tuesday afternoon. It prohibits any person from being within 100 feet of a polling station while voting, unless they enter or leave the building for ‘legal purposes’, such as voting.

Opponents of the food and water ban say there are agreements with a controversial part of the new voting law in Georgia, which makes it a crime for everyone to distribute food and water within the perimeter at the polls. Hammer, the sponsor of the Arkansas bill, said it was about preventing elections, which are already banned within the 100-foot radius.

In addition, the Arkansas Senate on Tuesday passed House Bill 1715 along party lines. The bill prohibits clerks from sending unsolicited ballot papers to absentees to voters. It will also require clerks to receive the commissioners of the provincial election commission daily from the applications received.

HB1715 requires voters’ signatures on an absent ballot paper and an application to match their signature from their original registration application. The bill reads that if a voter’s signature on the ballot paper is not deemed to be in line with their signature for registration applications, then ‘the county will not provide an absent ballot paper to the voter’. Critics point out that signatures change over time due to age, injury and other factors – and that the requirement of an exact match with an original signature may result in ballots or voters not even being able to receive an absent ballot.

The House also passed Senate Bill 487, 87-2, on Tuesday. The measure would remove the authority of counters to designate polling stations and instead give the power to provincial election commissioners.

This story has been updated to include more details on HB1715 and reactions from the government of Asa Hutchinson and Senator Kim Hammer.

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