LITTLE ROCK – Arkansas ranks first in the nation in election integrity, according to the most recent study by the Heritage Foundation.
Last year Arkansas ranked number eight. At a press conference at the Capitol, the Governor, the Secretary of State and members of the legislature announced the newest ranking.
They attributed the state’s moving up in the rankings to prioritizing in recent years the passage of laws that secure the integrity of voter registration and processing ballots.
According to one senator, the Heritage Foundation rankings have long been the gold standard for comparing how well states prevent voter fraud.
Arkansas scored 91 out of 100 on the recent scorecard, including 20 out of 20 in the category of voter ID implementation. We scored three out of three in granting access to election observers, four out of four in verification of citizenship of voters, three out of three in requiring identification of people who assist others to vote and three out of three in prohibiting election officials from receiving pay or benefits from private sources.
Arkansas scored six out of six in how we monitor voter registration to prevent fraud. For example, Arkansas does not allow registration on the same day as elections. Requiring voter registration ahead of an election allows more time to verify the accuracy of applications.
However, Arkansas scored 26 out of 28 in the category that measured the accuracy of voter registration lists. One negative score was for not including photographs of voters on the lists of registered voters, where they are kept electronically.
The legislature’s approval of Act 840 of 2025 may correct a negative score in the Heritage rankings. The act allows the Secretary of State to share voter registration lists with federal courts, which use them for jury selection. In return, the courts will notify the state of ineligible voters such as non-citizens, convicted felons, dead people or non-residents of the state.
The Heritage Foundation scorecard did not include a package of bills enacted earlier this year that prevent deceptive practices when canvassers collect signatures in order to place an issue on the ballot.
However, the governor specifically mentioned several of them, such as Act 218 of 2025 to require canvassers to inform people, before collecting their signatures, that petition fraud is a Class A misdemeanor. The disclosure could be verbal, or in a separate written document that would be shown to people before they sign.
She also mentioned Act 240 to require canvassers to view a photo ID of each person signing the petition. If canvassers are unable to verify someone’s identity, they may not collect a signature.
The governor mentioned another bill that strengthens the protections of the signature-gathering process - Act 241. It requires canvassers to submit a sworn statement that they have complied with all state laws governing the collection of signatures, and with the Constitution. Unless canvassers submit the sworn statements, any signatures they submit will not be counted.
The Secretary of State listed measures to ensure the accuracy of voter registration lists, such as partnering with credit bureaus to determine that people actually live where they say they do on applications. Agreements with other states reveal whether people are registered in more than one state.
