Arkansas panel bans electronic signatures on voter registration forms

LITTLE ROCK — An Arkansas panel has prohibited election officials from accepting voter registration forms signed with an electronic signature, a move that critics say amounts to voter suppression.

The State Board of Election Commissions on Tuesday unanimously approved the emergency rule. The order and an accompanying order say Arkansas’ constitution only allows certain state agencies, and not elections officials, to accept electronic signatures, the Arkansas Democrat- Gazette reported. The rule is in effect for 120 days while the panel works on a permanent rule.

Under the emergency rule, voters will have to register by signing their name with a pen. Chris Madison, the board’s director, said the change is needed to create “uniformity across the state.” Some county clerks have accepted electronic signatures and others have not.

The move comes after a nonprofit group, Get Loud Arkansas, helped register voters using electronic signatures. It said the board’s decision conflicts with a recent attorney general’s opinion that an electronic signature is generally valid under state law. The nonbinding legal opinion had been requested by Republican Secretary of State John Thurston.

Former Democratic state Sen.

Joyce Elliott, who heads Get Loud Arkansas, told the newspaper that the group is considering legal action to challenge the rule but had not made a decision yet.

The Arkansas rule is the latest in a wave of new voting restrictions in Republican-led states in recent years that critics say disenfranchise voters, particularly in low-income

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and underserved areas. Lawsuits have been filed challenging similar restrictions on the use of electronic signatures in Georgia and Florida.

“What we are seeing in Arkansas is a stark reminder that voter suppression impacts all of us,” Andrea Hailey, CEO of Vote.org, a national get-out-the vote group, said in a statement released Wednesday. “No voter is safe when state officials abandon the law in the name of voter suppression.”

Get Loud organizers had used a tablet to help register voters, with applicants filling out the form and signing with their finger or stylus on a touch screen. The nonprofit would then mail the application to a county clerk. The group used forms from the secretary of state’s office to assist voters with registration.

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Officer-involved shooting turned over to prosecutor

LITTLE ROCK — The case file on the March 19 officerinvolved shooting of Bryan Malinowski was forwarded by Arkansas State Police’s Criminal Investigation Division (CID) to the 6th Judicial District prosecuting attorney’s office on Tuesday, April 23. The shooting occurred at 4 Durance Court, Little Rock, while the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was serving a federal search warrant. Malinowski, 53, was transported to a local hospital, where he died on March 21, 2024.

ASP is authorized to investigate only the agent-involved shooting portion of the incident. CID has compiled a case file that will be handed over to the prosecutor, who will determine whether the shooting was justified. As with all such investigations, ASP will not give any form of recommendation to the prosecutor.

“We do not have the authority to address methods and tactics used or whether agency protocols and policies were followed,” said ASP Colonel Mike Hagar. “Any administrative oversight of tactics would fall to that agency’s – in this case, the U.S. Department of Justice – internal review and is not part of the scope of what ASP is authorized to review.”

The prosecutor will determine whether and when to release the case file.

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ASBTDC to offer five sessions

in May

JONESBORO — Small business owners and those who are interested in starting their own small business will have several opportunities in May to attend a free consulting session through the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center at Arkansas State University.

ASBTDC provides one-toone confidential guidance to business owners and entrepreneurs. The primary areas of assistance include business planning, financial analysis, market research, loan packaging, growth and expansion, marketing, and profitability.

Startup Summit sessions will cover startup basics, financing options, marketing and business plans in a seminar format.

Two sessions are set for May 8. ASBTDC business consultant Rheanna Branscum will lead consulting sessions from 10 a.m. to noon at the Spring River Innovation Hub, 7 East Cherokee Village Mall, in Cherokee Village and ASBTDC business consultant Robert Bahn will lead consulting sessions from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce, 109 Southwest Front St. in Walnut Ridge.

On May 14, ASBTDC Director Laura Miller and Branscum will lead a Startup Summit seminar from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Newport Area Chamber of Commerce, 209 Hazel St.

Three sessions are scheduled for May 21. Bahn will lead consulting sessions from 10 a.m. until noon at the Trumann Chamber of Commerce, 225 Arkansas 463; Miller will lead consulting sessions from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. at The Generating Innovative Network, 200-212 North Pruett St. in Paragould; and Bahn will lead consulting sessions from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Mississippi County Regional Chamber of Commerce, 300 West Walnut St. in Blytheville.

There is no charge to attend the Startup Summit or consulting sessions, but registration is required. There are limited spots available for the consulting sessions. Call 870972-3517 to register.