Election Integrity: 59% of Arkansas Voters Want Paper Ballots

By nearly a 2-to-1 margin, voters in Arkansas support calls for switching their state’s elections to paper ballots.

A new telephone and online survey by Rasmussen Reports and the Arkansas Voter Integrity Initiative finds that 59% of Likely Arkansas voters support their state only allowing hand-marked ballots for voting, including 37% who Strongly Support the paper-ballots-only proposal. Thirty-one percent (31%) oppose allowing only hand-market ballots, including 17% who are Strongly Opposed. Another 10% are not sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Nearly two-thirds (65%) of Arkansas voters are concerned that there will be cheating in the 2024 elections involving electronic voting machines, including 44% who are Very Concerned. Thirty-two percent (32%) are not concerned about electronic voting machines being involved in election cheating, including 16% who are Not At All Concerned.

The survey results have “vindicated the relentless efforts of Conrad Reynolds, a retired Army colonel and CEO of the Arkansas Voter Integrity Initiative (AVII),” the group said in a statement. “Amidst growing concerns over the integrity of electronic voting, a substantial majority of the state’s citizens are now advocating for a transition to hand-marked paper ballots and hand-count audits before elections are certified.”

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The survey of 893 Arkansas Likely Voters was conducted on November 11-26, 2023 by Rasmussen Reports and the Arkansas Voter Integrity Initiative. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Seventy-three percent (73%) of Arkansas voters agree that every election should be audited by hand-counting votes before declaring who won, including 50% who Strongly Agree. Twenty-two percent (22%) disagree, including 12% who Strongly Disagree.

Fifty-eight percent (58%) support amending the Arkansas state constitution to require the primary method of voting be conducted using hand-marked paper ballots, including 35% who Strongly Support such an amendment. Thirty-three percent (33%) oppose amending the state constitution to require paper ballots, including 20% who are Strongly Opposed.

The Arkansas voter survey found a consensus across party lines on many questions. For example, majorities of every political category – 67% of Republicans, 53% of Democrats and 56% of voters not affiliated with either major party – believe it’s likely that using hand-marked ballots in Arkansas would make voting safer and more trustworthy.

Among other findings of the Rasmussen Reports/Arkansas Voter Integrity Initiative survey:

– Only 37% of Arkansas voters approve of the job Joe Biden is doing as president, while 54% Strongly Disapprove of Biden’s performance as president.

– Fifty-eight percent (58%) approve of the job Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders is doing, while just 24% Strongly Disapprove of Sanders’ performance as governor.

– Seventy-four percent (74%) of Republican voters in Arkansas would choose former President Donald Trump in their state’s GOP primary.

– If the 2024 presidential election is between Biden and Trump, 62% of Arkansas voters would choose Trump and 35% would vote for Biden.

– Forty-four percent (44%) say using hand-marked paper ballots in Arkansas would make them trust elections more. Only 17% say paper ballots would make them trust elections less, while 34% say it would not make much difference.

– Sixty-one percent (61%) agree that hand-marked ballots are safer than touchscreen voting machines, including 37% who Strongly Agree. Twenty-nine percent (29%) disagree, including 14% who Strongly Disagree. Another 11% are not sure.

– Democrats (44%) are less likely than Republicans (72%) or unaffiliated voters (52%) to support amending the Arkansas state constitution to require the primary method of voting be conducted using hand-marked paper ballots.

– Men are generally more likely than women voters to prefer paper ballots. For example, 68% of men agree that hand-marked ballots are safer than touchscreen voting machines, compared to 53% of women voters.

“The results of this poll serve as a critical reminder of the need for ongoing vigilance and improvement in our electoral systems,” the Arkansas Voter Integrity Initiative said.

President Joe Biden is too old for the job, according to a majority of voters, who don’t think he should seek reelection next year.

A majority of voters support congressional efforts to impeach Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to the public as well as Platinum Members.

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