• Home
  • Opinion
  • Quizzes
  • Redistricting
  • Sections
  • About Us
  • Voting
  • Events
  • Civic Ed
  • Campaign Finance
  • Directory
  • Election Dissection
  • Fact Check
  • Glossary
  • Independent Voter News
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Subscriptions
  • Log in
Leveraging Our Differences
  • news & opinion
    • Big Picture
      • Civic Ed
      • Ethics
      • Leadership
      • Leveraging big ideas
      • Media
    • Business & Democracy
      • Corporate Responsibility
      • Impact Investment
      • Innovation & Incubation
      • Small Businesses
      • Stakeholder Capitalism
    • Elections
      • Campaign Finance
      • Independent Voter News
      • Redistricting
      • Voting
    • Government
      • Balance of Power
      • Budgeting
      • Congress
      • Judicial
      • Local
      • State
      • White House
    • Justice
      • Accountability
      • Anti-corruption
      • Budget equity
    • Columns
      • Beyond Right and Left
      • Civic Soul
      • Congress at a Crossroads
      • Cross-Partisan Visions
      • Democracy Pie
      • Our Freedom
  • Pop Culture
      • American Heroes
      • Ask Joe
      • Celebrity News
      • Comedy
      • Dance, Theatre & Film
      • Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
      • Faithful & Mindful Living
      • Music, Poetry & Arts
      • Sports
      • Technology
      • Your Take
      • American Heroes
      • Ask Joe
      • Celebrity News
      • Comedy
      • Dance, Theatre & Film
      • Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
      • Faithful & Mindful Living
      • Music, Poetry & Arts
      • Sports
      • Technology
      • Your Take
  • events
  • About
      • Mission
      • Advisory Board
      • Staff
      • Contact Us
Sign Up
  1. Home>
  2. Voting>
  3. voter registration>

Arkansas promises to help voters stay registered to settle a federal suit

Our Staff
May 07, 2020
U.S. and Arkansas flags
dlewis33/Getty Images

Arkansas will make its voter rolls more accurate and its registration process smoother in order to settle a federal complaint.

The Justice Department had sued in November, arguing the state was out of compliance in several ways with the so-called motor voter law, which requires drivers' license agencies to make it easier for citizens to register to vote. Such suits have been filed in several other Southern states that have resisted or slow-walked some of the federal mandates.


Only five states have a smaller share of people registered to vote than Arkansas — 56 percent of the 3 million eligible. The settlement could give the number a modest boost.

The state has agreed to make sure that all change-of-address information submitted for driver's license purposes will be used automatically to update the motorist's registration information, as the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 requires.

The government sued after learning that the DMV was only providing such information to election officials when drivers appeared in person to explain they had moved, not when they did so online or by mail. Thousands were disenfranchised by getting dropped from the rolls as a result.

"Since our founding as a republic, the right to vote has distinguished the United States from undemocratic regimes around the world," the head of the Justice Department Civil Rights Division, Eric Dreiband, said in announcing the settlement. "Dictators, monarchs, emperors and tyrants have no place here. We rule ourselves. One way we do so is by making sure that voter registration information is accurate."

Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter

From Your Site Articles
  • Past turnout success complicates future ballot initiatives - The Fulcrum ›
  • Coronavirus threatens to hobble voter registration efforts - The Fulcrum ›
  • Ark. anti-gerrymander group seeks relief from signature rule - The ... ›
  • Court rejects bid to open Arkansas mail voting to all - The Fulcrum ›
Related Articles Around the Web
  • Arkansas Election Dates & Deadlines - Rock the Vote ›
  • Check Your Voter Registration Status - Vote.org ›
  • Arkansas Voter Registration Form ›
voter registration

Want to write
for The Fulcrum?

If you have something to say about ways to protect or repair our American democracy, we want to hear from you.

Submit
Get some Leverage Sign up for The Fulcrum Newsletter
Follow
Contributors

Reform in 2023: Leadership worth celebrating

Layla Zaidane

Two technology balancing acts

Dave Anderson

Reform in 2023: It’s time for the civil rights community to embrace independent voters

Jeremy Gruber

Congress’ fix to presidential votes lights the way for broader election reform

Kevin Johnson

Democrats and Republicans want the status quo, but we need to move Forward

Christine Todd Whitman

Reform in 2023: Building a beacon of hope in Boston

Henry Santana
Jerren Chang
latest News

Family values and societal results

Debilyn Molineaux
5h

Transpartisanship and transformation

Brenda Marinace
6h

Podcast: Why we misunderstand independent voters

Our Staff
6h

The American experiment

Kevin Frazier
24 January

The Fahey Q&A with Jasmine Hull of Deliberations.US

Katie Fahey
Courtney Fiedler
24 January

Podcast: What does the House Speaker election say about the Republican Party?

Our Staff
24 January
Videos

Video: Meet the citizen activists championing primary reform

Our Staff

Video: Veterans for Political Innovation - Who we are

Our Staff

Video: Want to fight polarization? Take a vacation!

Our Staff

Video: Kevin McCarthy is Speaker, but he's got a tough job ahead

Our Staff

Video: #ListenFirst Friday End of Year

Our Staff

Video: Minnesota Gov. Walz asks fellow Democrats to ‘Think Big’ when it comes to fixing voting issues

Our Staff
Podcasts

Podcast: Why we misunderstand independent voters

Our Staff
6h

Podcast: What does the House Speaker election say about the Republican Party?

Our Staff
24 January

Video: Chaos or calm: Building confidence in Pennsylvania elections

Our Staff
19 January

Podcast: Pushing back against polarization

Our Staff
18 January
Recommended
Family values and societal results

Family values and societal results

Big Picture
Transpartisanship and transformation

Transpartisanship and transformation

Big Picture
Podcast: Why we misunderstand independent voters

Podcast: Why we misunderstand independent voters

Podcasts
image of Statue of Liberty and American flag.

The American experiment

Civic Ed
Jasmine Hull is Chief Operating Officer for Deliberations.US.

The Fahey Q&A with Jasmine Hull of Deliberations.US

Civic Ed
Podcast: What does the House Speaker election say about the Republican Party?

Podcast: What does the House Speaker election say about the Republican Party?

Podcasts