Arkansas secretary of state calls for review of election security practices
Arkansas Secretary of State Cole Jester on Thursday ordered a review of the state’s election security procedures.
Jester, who was appointed by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders last December, said the “top-to-bottom” review will assess the state’s security strengths and weaknesses and conclude with a “concise” report for the public.
“It includes things like voter registration; it includes the processes themselves, how a county votes, how we’re storing votes, it includes our retention, [and] are we keeping these documents long enough for people to be able to challenge them if they feel like it was a close election?” Jester told reporters Thursday.
Jester said administering elections is his office’s most important function and that he was striving for “100% security.”
“This is really the most important thing we do,” he said. “People need to know their elections are safe, because then they feel like their voice is heard and they get to participate.”
The Arkansas State Board of Election Commissioners last October said that artificial intelligence was on its radar for the first time as members prepared for the November election. A spokesperson for the board said AI’s potential was “unknown” and therefore a potential threat with regard to spreading misinformation.
