Arkansas Leads the Way in Election Integrity: A Commitment to Fairness and Transparency

By State Senator Kim Hammer, Republican Candidate for Arkansas Secretary of State

I believe what most every American believes; election integrity is paramount in choosing who governs us. It means nothing to call ourselves a constitutional republic if our people do not truly have the power to dictate who gets to make decisions on our behalf, and in what capacity.

Every voter should feel assured that his or her vote counts, and every citizen should know that our elections are free from fraud and outside interference. We should know without a doubt that the process and mechanisms used – down to the ballot box itself – produce a wholly accurate representation of the people’s will.

To achieve this goal, we ought to be constantly improving our system. We’ve done this since the beginning.

Rewinding back to 1800, Federalist incumbent John Adams ran against Democrat-Republican Thomas Jefferson. At the time, presidential electors voted for two people – president and vice president – and whoever received the most votes assumed the highest office in the nation.

Jefferson and his VP running mate, Aaron Burr, were tied in the electoral college. In our first Constitutional crisis, the deadlocked U.S. House was tasked with deciding who won. As chaos ensued, two states – Virginia and Pennsylvania – organized militias to seize the government if Jefferson did not receive the votes to win.

The Federalists could’ve stopped Jefferson from reaching the presidency, but Alexander Hamilton ultimately arranged and was credited for securing Jefferson’s victory. Burr was Jefferson’s vice president. And changes took place to ensure the catastrophe never happened again.

Through history we’ve continued to refine our tools, policies, and procedures, amending as we see necessary.

Simply put, our process has to meet the moment. Cyber security threats, ballot harvesting, cheating of the system, outdated machines, lack of funding, non-citizens voting – the list of today’s concerns is not short.

Republicans are addressing the growing threats to election safety and security we face in a modern world. On a national level, this March President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order addressing several facets for improvement. These include mandating proof of U.S. citizenship for voter registration, mail-in ballot deadlines, voter roll maintenance, election equipment standardization, and compliance in order for states to receive federal funding.

During my time in the Arkansas legislature, I and my legislative colleagues have made election integrity a top priority. Our legislation which passed this session made our state #1 in the country for safest elections according to the Heritage Foundation’s election scorecard, crowning Arkansas as the best of the best.

The acts – 218, 240, 241, 273, and 274 – champion common-sense reforms that strengthen voter ID laws, increase transparency in election procedures, and improve the accuracy of voter rolls. They also create a clear framework for addressing potential election fraud while safeguarding the rights of lawful voters.

Resulting from this, in the Heritage Foundation’s analysis, Arkansas scores high on key components such as ID implementation, legitimacy of registration lists, absentee ballot management, restrictions on vote harvesting and trafficking, access of election observers, verification of citizenship, identification for voter assistance, vote counting practices, and more.

These measures ensure that every legal vote counts and only legal votes are counted.

The battle for fair elections is ongoing, but I am proud of the progress we’ve made.

Arkansans can and should have full confidence in the integrity of our voting systems, and that every election is conducted transparently, securely, and with the utmost respect for the will of the people. As Arkansas’ Secretary of State, I will be committed to continuing the work we’ve started to strengthen election laws, ensuring that we remain a model for other states looking to preserve the sanctity of their elections.

Working with the legislature, the Governor, and our partners at the State Board of Elections and in every county, we will keep our state’s rank at the very top.

State Senator Kim Hammer has served in the Arkansas Legislature since 2011, as a State Representative until 2019 when he was elected to the Senate. He is currently running for Secretary of State. Hammer is a pastor, small business owner, and runs a nonprofit organization in Saline County.