Natural State News

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson plans to sign a voter identification bill that will make it more difficult for citizens to have their provisional and absentee ballots counted.

House Bill 1112 means those casting provisional ballots or absentee voters mailing in without proper identification must provide the required identification to the county clerk or election board in person within six days of the election.

However, if signed into law, it could face legal challenges as the wording is similar to that included in a 2013 voter ID law struck down by the state Supreme Court. In 2017, the law was changed to allow voters to sign an affidavit without needing to return at a later date with an ID.

State Rep. Brandt Smith, who supported the bill, wants to make the process effective and fairer for all Arkansans, according to KAIT 8.

“We want living, breathing, registered voters across the political spectrum to show up and cast their vote, but they need a voter ID to do it,” Smith said, adding that issues surfaced with voter fraud in the recent election.

The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank that tracks election fraud and supports voter ID laws, has identified three instances of confirmed voter fraud in Arkansas since 2002, the last in 2016. Its database includes 2020.

Emma Agnew, president of the Craighead County NAACP chapter, said the bill is aimed at making it harder for people to vote, particularly older adults and marginalized communities.

“The fact that our country and the state of Arkansas is making it harder and harder for people who already find it challenging to vote, then that says something about the state of Arkansas,” Agnew told KAIT.

Among the reasons a voter may need a provisional ballot include issues with the registration, concerns they may have voted before, someone trying to vote in-person after requesting a mail-in ballot or not having required identification. All provisional ballots are counted separately.