Little Rock, AR – (BrooklandNews.com) – Feb. 18, 2025  – The Arkansas Secretary of State released a report after investigating election security.

In a report compiled after interviewing “top election officials” released by the Arkansas Secretary of State, Cole Jester, with letter grades of election health in Arkansas.

Voter registration was graded as a B+ as the report cited, “there is always room for growth” and noted that steps are taken daily to ensure the Arkansas voter roll is accurate.

“One area of concern is mitigating the potential for non-United States citizens have their names added to the voter registration roll,” the report said. It said this issue was due to Arkansas having “no mechanism” for removing non-citizens.

County outreach was graded an A. The report said, “County outreach, support, and training are critical to the safety of elections.” The report went on to say the Secretary of States Office works “diligently to guarantee the security of Arkansas elections.”

Petitions in the State of Arkansas were graded a D. The report cited major concerns for petitions when it comes to election security. “Such legislation has thus far been insufficient to combat the security threats currently posed,” the report said.

“As the law currently stands, wealthy out-of-state interest groups are able to get almost any issue on Arkansas ballots. Arkansas voters are not required to be informed of what they are actually signing before providing their signatures on a ballot. For example, an amendment legalizing late-term abortions in Arkansas can be explained to would-be petitioners as ‘an amendment to protect pregnant women,'” the report said.

Law controlling canvassers have been put in place, but “the Secretary of State’s Office has no ability to investigate violation of these laws,” the report said.

The report went on to say that there aren’t “adequate safeguards” for petitions.

In-person voting was graded an A. “Voting via voting machines has been proven to be safe and secure. Voting machines are not connected to the internet, and thus are safe from cyber-attacks. Further, the voting equipment used in Arkansas is certified by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.”

Meanwhile, absentee voting was graded a B- citing errors in election fraud. The report states there will always be concerns, and no measures “can make up for  the innate security deficiencies.”

Cyber security was graded as an A. The report stated, “Arkansas does an excellent job to ensure that its elections are safe from cyberattacks.” The report also said they have created more positions that focus on the security of elections.

When it comes to physical security, the report gave it an A. The Arkansas Election Security Working Group works to prevent physical attacks, the report noted.

The report outlined concerns while also claiming ‘Arkansas has the safest elections in the nation.