Arkansas Election Board to touts 100% accuracy of voting machines, audit finds • Arkansas Advocate

Searcy County has a population of nearly 8,000 people. Gross said fewer than 10 voters used voting machines in November when they were offered the paper ballot.

In the March primary election, about 1,700 votes were cast in the county. About 30 people helped count the votes, which took the entire day after the election.

Lawsuits over ballot papers

Voters in Arkansas typically cast their ballots on a machine, which then prints a receipt documenting the vote. If the ballot is free of errors, it is sent to a counting machine where it is counted. The counting machine contains a special USB drive that the Secretary of State's office receives after the election and which records the results.

But some residents, including those who in recent court cases With regard to paper ballot applications, you prefer ballot counting by hand because you consider this to be safer.

Paper voting group files suit against nine counties over rejected petitions

Nine lawsuits were filed this month over failed ballot-counting requests. A judge ruled this week that county clerks in Cleburne and Independence counties must certify requests to put a proposed ballot-counting ordinance before voters in November.

County officials have 30 days to appeal the decision to the Arkansas Supreme Court.

Decisions have yet to be filed on the “2024 Hand-Marked and Hand-Counted Paper Ballot Ordinance” petitions in Conway, Van Buren, Sharp, Saline, White, Perry and Johnson counties.

In 2023, Senator Ken Hammer (R-Benton) passed a bill requiring counties to bear the financial burden of manually counting ballots. The Searcy County primary cost the county more than $3,000. Officials in more populous counties said the cost could be higher and the count could take several days.

Miscellaneous

A Contest the lawsuit A rule requiring Arkansas voters to fill out their voter registration forms in writing will be heard Thursday before a federal judge in Washington County.

The voter rights group Get Loud Arkansas, along with Vote.org and two Arkansas voters, filed a lawsuit in June in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas against Secretary of State John Thurston, the Arkansas State Board of Election Commissioners and the county clerks of Benton, Pulaski and Washington counties.

Legislators gave final approval the rule banning electronic signatures unless completed at certain state agencies last week. They also approved up to $500,000 for the State Board of Election Commissioners engage an external legal advisor to defend oneself in the lawsuit.

Normally, the agency would be represented by the Attorney General's Office, but the latter has withdrawn from representation because an earlier opinion contradicts the present case.