Members of the Arkansas Legislative Council approved two controversial rule changes in a meeting Friday: the first had to do with elections, while the second had to do with gender-neutral driver's licenses.
Driver's licenses
The Department of Finance and Administration recently implemented a rule requiring the letter “M” or “F” to be listed under “sex” on all driver’s licenses or state-issued IDs. Right now, a few hundred Arkansans have “X” listed instead of "M" or "F".
Democratic lawmakers protested the rule change, saying it was harmful to transgender and nonbinary Arkansans. Rep. Andrew Collins, D- Little Rock, said the rule change goes beyond the purview of what the Department of Finance and Administration is allowed to do.
“It just seems like it oversteps what the agency's authority would be in this case,” he said, also calling the rule "disruptive."
The rule change has been litigated in the court system with the state Supreme Court opting to keep it in place.
Wet Signatures
The second rule discussed Friday bans using electronic signatures on voter application forms. Voting rights groups are worried this could make it harder to register to vote.
Sen. Clarke Tucker, D-Little Rock, said this was a misguided attempt to prevent voter fraud.
“We have a law on the books that lets you use an electronic signature for court documents,” he said. “I think to prevent voter fraud is a worthy goal, but it needs to be balanced with a couple of things. One of those is evidence, and the other is the goal of making sure all citizens of Arkansas have the right to vote.”
He cited statistics showing that Arkansas has low rates of voter registration.
Both rule changes were approved by members of the Arkansas Legislative Council in Friday's meeting.
