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After Reforms, Arkansas Ranked Top State for Election Integrity

Posted on: 06/04/2025 9:29 am

(LITTLE ROCK, ARK.) – On Tuesday, June 3, 2025, Arkansas Secretary of State Cole Jester announced Arkansas's new #1 ranking in election integrity, according to the latest scorecard from The Heritage Foundation. 

Prior to Secretary Jester's administration, Arkansas had been ranked #8 for election integrity. The new ranking comes just a few months after the state's legislative session concluded, where Secretary Jester led the way on a handful of bills that were signed into law by Governor Sarah Sanders.

“As Secretary of State, I have said from day one we would have the most secure elections in the country," said Secretary of State Cole Jester. "I’m proud of the work my team has completed implementing new procedures and technology. None of this would be possible without the great work of Governor Sanders and the men and women of the Arkansas legislature."

The new state policies include joining the federal SAVE program to check voter registration against department of homeland security records; partnering with credit bureaus to make sure individuals live where they say they do when registering to vote; establishing voter IDs for initiative petitions; checking for voter registration anomalies, such as individuals registered at industrial addresses or several individuals with the same name at the same address; auditing the remakes of damaged ballots; requiring a witness for absentee voting, who must leave contact information, and requiring federal juror coordinators to tell the Secretary of State when they find jurors who are noncitizens but registered to vote. 

Secretary Jester would like to thank Representative Carlton Wing (R-North Little Rock), Representative Howard Beaty (R-Crossett), Senator Kim Hammer (R-Benton) and Senator Matt McKee (R-Pearcy) for their efforts in running the related legislation.

“Heritage has long been the gold standard for ranking states for election integrity and security," said Senator Kim Hammer. "Legislators, Governor Sanders, and Secretary of State Cole Jester have worked together as a team, on behalf of Arkansans, to help achieve the number one ranking in election integrity and security IN THE NATION! We must continue our work together to protect our number one ranking from those who want to take us backwards by undoing what has made us number one in the nation. Arkansans can feel confident that our elections are secure. Let’s work together to keep our number one ranking.”

“The Presidential elections of 2016 and 2020 showed both parties can challenge results," said Representative Carlton Wing. "The Legislature and Secretary of State’s office worked hard to pass laws to restore confidence in the electoral process. Arkansas now leads the nation in assuring our citizens that all legal votes must be counted and only legal votes should count. Today’s announcement demonstrates our efforts are setting a national standard in election integrity.”

To see the new scorecard from Heritage Foundation, click here.

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