{"attribution":{"source":"legal.exploreworldai.com","canonical":"https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/judgment-text?id=us:ca8-24-2810-2026-03-31","cite_as":"NovaCopilot, legal.exploreworldai.com (https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/judgment-text?id=us:ca8-24-2810-2026-03-31)","license":"https://legal.exploreworldai.com/revision","version":"legal-2026-10-20","fingerprint":"ewai:us:49b4aa","proof":"sha256:b600d5c49a342c66922b91c919d85157fc88483db0fbffb4fd922999c923aef7","jurisdiction":"us","lang":"en","publisher":"NovaCopilot by ExploreWorld Legal","terms":"https://legal.exploreworldai.com/om"},"brand_source":"Source: NovaCopilot","item":{"schema_version":"1.0.0","id":"us:ca8-24-2810-2026-03-31","jurisdiction":"us","lang":"en","brand_source":"Source: NovaCopilot","brand":{"product":"NovaCopilot","platform":"ExploreWorldAI","infrastructure":"ExploreWorld Legal","infrastructure_url":"legal.exploreworldai.com","legal_entity":"Valkiv Ventures AB","permanent_url":"https://legal.exploreworldai.com/novacopilot","source":"Source: NovaCopilot","powered_by":"Powered by NovaCopilot","license":"https://legal.exploreworldai.com/licensvillkor"},"sections":[{"title":"United States Court of Appeals","paragraphs":[]},{"title":"For the Eighth Circuit","paragraphs":["para_3"]},{"title":"No. 24-2810","paragraphs":["para_5","para_6","para_7","para_8"]},{"title":"Cole Jester, in his official capacity as Secretary of State; Sharon Brooks, in her","paragraphs":["para_10"]},{"title":"Commissioners; Jamie Clemmer, in official capacity as Commissioner of the","paragraphs":[]},{"title":"Arkansas State Board of Election Commissioners; Bilenda Harris-Ritter, in her","paragraphs":["para_13"]},{"title":"Commissioners; William Luther, in his official capacity as Commissioner of the","paragraphs":[]},{"title":"Arkansas State Board of Election Commissioners; James H. Smith, III, in his","paragraphs":["para_16"]},{"title":"Commissioners; Jonathan Williams, in his official capacity as Commissioner of","paragraphs":["para_18","para_19"]},{"title":"Betsy Harrell, in her official capacity as Benton County Clerk; Becky Lewallen, in","paragraphs":["para_21","para_22","para_23","para_24"]},{"title":"Center for Election Confidence, Inc.; Honest Elections Project; Restoring Integrity","paragraphs":["para_26","para_27","para_28","para_29","para_30"]},{"title":"Appeal from United States District Court","paragraphs":["para_32","para_33"]},{"title":"Submitted: September 18, 2025","paragraphs":[]},{"title":"Filed: March 31, 2026","paragraphs":["para_36","para_37","para_38","para_39"]},{"title":"Get Loud Arkansas and others sued to enjoin a rule promulgated by the","paragraphs":["para_41","para_42","para_43","para_44","para_45","para_46","para_47","para_48","para_49","para_50"]},{"title":"1The Honorable Timothy L. Brooks, now Chief Judge, United States District","paragraphs":["para_52","para_53","para_54"]},{"title":"To vote in Arkansas, one must be at least 18 years old, a citizen of the United","paragraphs":[]},{"title":"States, a resident of Arkansas, neither adjudicated mentally incompetent nor","paragraphs":["para_57","para_58","para_59","para_60","para_61","para_62","para_63","para_64","para_65"]},{"title":"The tool enabled an applicant to complete his voter registration application on a","paragraphs":["para_67","para_68","para_69"]},{"title":"Before launching the online registration tool, Get Loud’s executive director","paragraphs":["para_71"]},{"title":"Arkansas law. Get Loud asked the Secretary whether a wet signature is required on","paragraphs":["para_73","para_74","para_75"]},{"title":"Get Loud introduced the online registration tool in January 2024. After","paragraphs":["para_77","para_78","para_79","para_80","para_81","para_82","para_83","para_84"]},{"title":"On February 28, two days after the article reported the success of Get Loud’s","paragraphs":["para_86","para_87"]},{"title":"12, Secretary Thurston requested a formal opinion from Arkansas Attorney General","paragraphs":[]},{"title":"Griffin on the legality of digital signatures. Attorney General Griffin issued a formal","paragraphs":["para_90"]},{"title":"General Griffin wrote that “given the historical acceptance of signatures produced","paragraphs":["para_92","para_93","para_94","para_95"]},{"title":"After receiving the attorney general’s opinion, the Board adopted an emergency","paragraphs":["para_97","para_98","para_99","para_100"]},{"title":"Registration Application Form with a pen or other writing device that is physically","paragraphs":["para_102","para_103","para_104","para_105","para_106","para_107"]},{"title":"The rule had an immediate effect on Get Loud’s operations. To ensure that its","paragraphs":["para_109","para_110","para_111","para_112","para_113","para_114","para_115"]},{"title":"On June 5, 2024, one month after the rule went into effect, Get Loud and others","paragraphs":["para_117","para_118"]},{"title":"No person acting under color of law shall . . . deny the right of any","paragraphs":["para_120","para_121","para_122","para_123","para_124","para_125"]},{"title":"The district court granted Get Loud’s motion for a preliminary injunction. The","paragraphs":["para_127","para_128","para_129"]},{"title":"The Board appeals on several grounds. We consider the question of Article III","paragraphs":["para_131","para_132","para_133","para_134","para_135"]},{"title":"Inc. v. C L Sys., Inc., 640 F.2d 109, 113 (8th Cir. 1981) (en banc). The ultimate","paragraphs":["para_137","para_138","para_139","para_140","para_141"]},{"title":"To establish Article III standing, a plaintiff must show an injury in fact that is","paragraphs":["para_143","para_144"]},{"title":"An organizational plaintiff satisfies the injury-in-fact requirement if a defendant’s","paragraphs":["para_146","para_147","para_148"]},{"title":"Get Loud has established that it suffered an injury in fact. The challenged rule","paragraphs":["para_150","para_151","para_152","para_153","para_154","para_155","para_156","para_157"]},{"title":"The Board argues that Get Loud cannot manufacture an injury merely by","paragraphs":["para_159","para_160","para_161","para_162","para_163","para_164","para_165","para_166"]},{"title":"Get Loud has also established causation and redressability. Get Loud’s injury","paragraphs":["para_168","para_169","para_170","para_171","para_172","para_173"]},{"title":"The district court determined that the Materiality Provision creates a private","paragraphs":["para_175"]},{"title":"Marion Cnty. v. Talevski, 599 U.S. 166, 183-91 (2023). At oral argument, the Board","paragraphs":["para_177"]},{"title":"Frankly, on the private right of action, I recognize there is some pretty","paragraphs":["para_179"]},{"title":"Materiality Provision, including in the Callanen case, which I would","paragraphs":["para_181","para_182"]},{"title":"In Vote.org v. Callanen, 89 F.4th 459 (5th Cir. 2023), the Fifth Circuit agreed with","paragraphs":["para_184","para_185","para_186","para_187"]},{"title":"Migliori, 143 S. Ct. 297 (2022) (mem.); Schwier v. Cox, 340 F.3d 1284, 1297 (11th","paragraphs":[]},{"title":"Cir. 2003). When asked to elaborate on the Board’s position, counsel confirmed that","paragraphs":["para_190","para_191","para_192","para_193","para_194","para_195"]},{"title":"The Materiality Provision prohibits denial of an individual’s right to vote based","paragraphs":["para_197","para_198"]},{"title":"52 U.S.C. § 10101(a)(2)(B). An error is “material” when it is “important” or has","paragraphs":["para_200"]},{"title":"(4th ed. 1951). The legal meaning of materiality typically sets a “demanding”","paragraphs":["para_202","para_203","para_204","para_205","para_206","para_207"]},{"title":"When a person applies to register to vote in Arkansas, the registrant must attest","paragraphs":["para_209","para_210","para_211"]},{"title":"There is no evidence, however, that Arkansas election officials use the type of","paragraphs":["para_213","para_214","para_215","para_216","para_217","para_218","para_219","para_220","para_221","para_222","para_223","para_224","para_225"]},{"title":"As the district court explained, the Board did not “present argument or evidence as","paragraphs":["para_227","para_228"]},{"title":"The Board argues that the wet signature requirement is material in determining","paragraphs":["para_230","para_231","para_232","para_233","para_234","para_235","para_236","para_237","para_238","para_239"]},{"title":"The Board also maintains that compliance with the signature rule is material","paragraphs":["para_241","para_242","para_243","para_244","para_245","para_246","para_247","para_248","para_249","para_250"]},{"title":"U.S.C. § 10101(a)(2)(B). In this respect, we find ourselves in agreement with the","paragraphs":["para_252","para_253","para_254"]},{"title":"The Board cites no evidence to support its claim that a requirement of wet","paragraphs":["para_256"]},{"title":"Arkansas. The record shows that county clerks do not analyze original wet signatures","paragraphs":["para_258","para_259","para_260","para_261","para_262","para_263"]},{"title":"The Board belatedly suggests in its reply brief that a wet signature carries a","paragraphs":["para_265","para_266","para_267","para_268","para_269","para_270","para_271","para_272","para_273"]},{"title":"In sum, Get Loud presented substantial evidence that the wet signature","paragraphs":["para_275","para_276","para_277","para_278","para_279","para_280"]},{"title":"We also agree with the district court that Get Loud showed a likelihood of","paragraphs":["para_282","para_283","para_284"]},{"title":"Cir. 2016). Get Loud lost opportunities to register voters before the 2024 elections","paragraphs":["para_286","para_287"]},{"title":"The remaining injunction factors—the balance of equities and the public","paragraphs":["para_289"]},{"title":"Holder, 556 U.S. 418, 435 (2009). There is no dispute that successful registration of","paragraphs":["para_291","para_292","para_293","para_294","para_295","para_296","para_297","para_298"]},{"title":"For these reasons, the district court did not abuse its discretion in enjoining","paragraphs":["para_300","para_301","para_302","para_303"]},{"title":"Just because there are other ways to fight fraud does not mean that a method","paragraphs":["para_305","para_306","para_307","para_308"]},{"title":"Council, Inc., 555 U.S. 7, 22 (2008), so I would let Arkansas continue to require them","paragraphs":["para_310","para_311","para_312","para_313","para_314","para_315","para_316"]},{"title":"2It took some procedural gymnastics to get to this point. Nothing today","paragraphs":["para_318","para_319","para_320"]},{"title":"Rights Act lacks an individually enforceable right under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 based on","paragraphs":["para_322"]},{"title":"Conf. NAACP v. Ark. Bd. of Apportionment, 86 F.4th 1204, 1208–11 (8th Cir. 2023)","paragraphs":[]},{"title":"(holding that § 2 of the Voting Rights Act lacks a private right of action based on its","paragraphs":["para_325"]},{"title":"Ark. United v. Thurston, 146 F.4th 673, 677–79 (8th Cir. 2025) (reaching the same","paragraphs":["para_327","para_328","para_329","para_330","para_331","para_332","para_333"]},{"title":"Before signatures, people used seals, which involved making an impression on","paragraphs":["para_335"]},{"title":"Commentaries on American Law *451; Frederick E. Crane, The Magic of the Private","paragraphs":[]},{"title":"Seal, 15 Colum. L. Rev. 24, 24 (1915). Many documents included them, from","paragraphs":["para_338"]},{"title":"See 1 William Blackstone, Commentaries *260, *351 (discussing use of the “great","paragraphs":["para_340"]},{"title":"95 F. 23, 32–33 (9th Cir. 1899) (noting the requirement that “important contracts”","paragraphs":["para_342"]},{"title":"Or, Polite English Secretary 15–16 (Edinburgh, W. Darling 1778) (discussing the use","paragraphs":["para_344","para_345","para_346","para_347"]},{"title":"See Bates v. Bos. & N.Y.C.R. Co., 92 Mass. (1 Allen) 251, 254 (1865) (explaining that","paragraphs":["para_349","para_350","para_351"]},{"title":"Over time, signatures replaced seals. The transition began with the Statute of","paragraphs":["para_353"]},{"title":"See An Act for prevention of Frauds and Perjuries, 1677, 29 Car. 2, c. 3 (Eng.)","paragraphs":[]},{"title":"(listing the “prevention of . . . fraudulent Practices” as the reason for it); see also","paragraphs":[]},{"title":"Pratalongo v. Larco, 47 Cal. 378, 383 (1874) (“The English statute of frauds","paragraphs":["para_357","para_358","para_359","para_360","para_361"]},{"title":"651 (1828) (explaining the signature requirement under Maryland’s statute of frauds);","paragraphs":["para_363","para_364"]},{"title":"Warner v. Tex. & P. Ry. Co., 164 U.S. 418, 423 (1896) (discussing the widespread","paragraphs":["para_366"]},{"title":"(explaining that the signature was one of the “solemnities of execution”). In the","paragraphs":[]},{"title":"American colonies, legislatures began allowing a “scroll”—a hand-drawn","paragraphs":["para_369"]},{"title":"Fredericksburg 35, LLC, 813 S.E.2d 312, 317 & n.16 (Va. 2018) (discussing the","paragraphs":["para_371","para_372","para_373"]},{"title":"74 S.E. 721, 722 (W. Va. 1912) (citation omitted), to the letters “L.S.,” short for","paragraphs":["para_375","para_376","para_377"]},{"title":"In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, some legal documents, like land","paragraphs":["para_379","para_380","para_381","para_382","para_383"]},{"title":"Wheat.) 64, 96 (1827) (“An instrument was much more certainly authenticated by the","paragraphs":["para_385","para_386","para_387","para_388","para_389"]},{"title":"(1923). Even into the early twentieth century, seals still had a limited role to play in","paragraphs":["para_391"]},{"title":"(recognizing the longstanding rule that a contract bearing the seal of an agent did not","paragraphs":["para_393"]},{"title":"Lewis, 146 N.E. 374, 374 (N.Y. 1925) (continuing to distinguish between sealed and","paragraphs":["para_395","para_396","para_397","para_398","para_399","para_400","para_401"]},{"title":"1943) (noting how “seals were replaced by signatures”). Even states that kept the old","paragraphs":["para_403","para_404","para_405","para_406"]},{"title":"We are now right in the middle of a similar evolution from handwritten","paragraphs":["para_408"]},{"title":"3With seals, fraud took a different form. It was fairly simple to lift a seal from","paragraphs":["para_410"]},{"title":"Institutes of the Laws of England 15 (London, M. Flesher 1644) (discussing how it","paragraphs":["para_412","para_413"]},{"title":"Commentaries *83 (discussing the “knavish artifice” of lifting “wax bearing the","paragraphs":["para_415"]},{"title":"Requiring both a signature and a seal was a way to ensure that the person executing","paragraphs":["para_417"]},{"title":"Wood v. Owings, 5 U.S. (1 Cranch) 239, 247 (1803) (explaining that “at common","paragraphs":["para_419","para_420","para_421","para_422"]},{"title":"(defining an “electronic signature” as “[a]n electronic symbol, sound, or process” on","paragraphs":["para_424","para_425","para_426","para_427","para_428","para_429","para_430","para_431","para_432","para_433","para_434","para_435","para_436","para_437","para_438","para_439"]},{"title":"Uniform Commercial Code); Ark. Sup. Ct. Admin. Ord. No. 21, § 8(b) (calling for","paragraphs":["para_441","para_442"]},{"title":"The reasons have not changed. For those documents, a wet signature is the","paragraphs":["para_444"]},{"title":"Vote.org v. Callanen, 89 F.4th 459, 489 (5th Cir. 2023) (citation omitted); see Weems","paragraphs":["para_446","para_447"]},{"title":"Ct. App. 2022) (“The purpose of a signature is to authenticate the writing to which","paragraphs":["para_449","para_450","para_451","para_452","para_453"]},{"title":"Commentaries *452–53 (leaving it up to “municipal regulation” whether to require","paragraphs":["para_455","para_456"]},{"title":"F.4th at 489; Aerotek, Inc. v. Boyd, 624 S.W.3d 199, 204–05 (Tex. 2021) (explaining","paragraphs":["para_458","para_459","para_460","para_461","para_462"]},{"title":"Lawson, 937 F.3d 944, 962 (7th Cir. 2019), Arkansas believes voter-registration","paragraphs":["para_464","para_465","para_466","para_467","para_468","para_469","para_470","para_471"]},{"title":"The Law of Electronic Signatures and Records § 2:3 (May 2024 update) (noting that","paragraphs":["para_473"]},{"title":"Uniform Electronic Transactions Act in the mid-1990s); cf. Miller v. Thurston, 967","paragraphs":[]},{"title":"F.3d 727, 741 (8th Cir. 2020) (stating that requiring “in-person signatures” for","paragraphs":["para_476"]},{"title":"Cir. 2011) (explaining that requiring a signature for comparison in voting helps","paragraphs":["para_478","para_479","para_480","para_481","para_482"]},{"title":"Sometimes, the definition is “relevant” or “pertinent.” Webster’s Third New","paragraphs":[]},{"title":"International Dictionary 1392 (1961). For example, when evaluating the materiality","paragraphs":["para_485","para_486","para_487","para_488","para_489","para_490","para_491"]},{"title":"An example is a prosecutor’s obligation to turn over “material” evidence, which","paragraphs":["para_493","para_494"]},{"title":"United States v. Bagley, 473 U.S. 667, 682 (1985) (plurality opinion) (emphasis","paragraphs":["para_496","para_497"]},{"title":"When it comes to the materiality of “error[s] or omission[s]” in voting, the","paragraphs":["para_499"]},{"title":"Fla. State Conf. of NAACP v. Browning, 522 F.3d 1153, 1174 (11th Cir. 2008): an","paragraphs":["para_501","para_502"]},{"title":"Pa., 97 F.4th 120, 134 (3d Cir. 2024). On the other is something “closer to outcome-","paragraphs":["para_504","para_505","para_506"]},{"title":"There is no definition of the word “material” in the Civil Rights Act, but the","paragraphs":["para_508","para_509"]},{"title":"Co., 519 U.S. 337, 341 (1997). The first is the opening line, which makes clear that","paragraphs":["para_511","para_512","para_513","para_514"]},{"title":"Scalia & Bryan A. Garner, Reading Law: The Interpretation of Legal Texts 217","paragraphs":[]},{"title":"(2012))). Then come three specific limitations on state election procedures, including","paragraphs":["para_517","para_518","para_519","para_520"]},{"title":"South. Id. § 10101(a)(2)(A), (C); see Shelby County v. Holder, 570 U.S. 529, 536","paragraphs":[]},{"title":"(2013) (discussing the history of literacy tests); Perkins v. City of West Helena, 675","paragraphs":[]},{"title":"F.2d 201, 210–11 (8th Cir. 1982) (describing other historical standards, practices, and","paragraphs":["para_524","para_525"]},{"title":"What becomes clear, when reading the surrounding provisions, is that “State","paragraphs":["para_527","para_528","para_529","para_530"]},{"title":"1284, 1294 (11th Cir. 2003) (discussing the same example). A rule like that one is","paragraphs":["para_532","para_533","para_534","para_535","para_536","para_537"]},{"title":"See Browning, 522 F.3d at 1174; Pa. State Conf. of NAACP Branches, 97 F.4th at 137","paragraphs":[]},{"title":"(noting that the materiality provision “target[s]” the discriminatory rejection of","paragraphs":["para_540","para_541"]},{"title":"(explaining that the materiality provision “was written . . . to capture well-disguised","paragraphs":["para_543"]},{"title":"If the rule were otherwise, state legislatures would lose their ability to enact","paragraphs":["para_545"]},{"title":"2020) (per curiam); see U.S. Const. art. I, § 4, cl. 1 (entrusting the “Legislature” of","paragraphs":["para_547","para_548","para_549","para_550","para_551","para_552","para_553","para_554","para_555","para_556"]},{"title":"This one does. No one disputes that a signature or mark of some kind is","paragraphs":["para_558","para_559","para_560","para_561","para_562","para_563"]},{"title":"(Ark. 1940) (“By signing a document which may be placed of record, the person so","paragraphs":["para_565","para_566"]},{"title":"The most obvious advantage is the “solemn weight” of putting an actual pen","paragraphs":["para_568","para_569","para_570"]},{"title":"(explaining how physically signing a printed document “has some prospect of getting","paragraphs":["para_572","para_573"]},{"title":"315 (3d Cir. 2025) (“Affixing one’s [handwritten] signature onto a legal document","paragraphs":["para_575","para_576","para_577","para_578","para_579","para_580"]},{"title":"These fraud-fighting features should be no surprise, given that wet signatures","paragraphs":["para_582"]},{"title":"DeWine, 976 F.3d 610, 614, 618 (6th Cir. 2020) (holding that a wet-signature","paragraphs":["para_584","para_585","para_586"]},{"title":"It is not hard to see how doing so will make fraud easier, faster, and harder to","paragraphs":["para_588","para_589"]},{"title":"(describing a similar practice with seals in which a person lifted the “wax bearing the","paragraphs":["para_591"]},{"title":"2 (explaining how signature requirements helped prevent this form of fraud). Digital","paragraphs":["para_593","para_594","para_595"]},{"title":"(8th Cir. 2025) (emphasizing that “[v]oter fraud is no myth” and describing a scheme","paragraphs":["para_597","para_598","para_599","para_600","para_601","para_602"]},{"title":"Third Parties or Organizations, 55 A.L.R.6th 599 § 4 (2010) (discussing a case that","paragraphs":["para_604","para_605","para_606"]},{"title":"This advantage may explain why at least four other states insist on one for voter-","paragraphs":["para_608","para_609"]},{"title":"Ga. Code § 21-2-381(a)(1)(C)(i) (requiring one for an “appl[ication] for an absentee","paragraphs":["para_611","para_612","para_613"]},{"title":"Rev. Code § 3501.011(A) (stating that “whenever a person is required to sign or affix","paragraphs":["para_615","para_616","para_617","para_618","para_619","para_620","para_621","para_622"]},{"title":"The court never meaningfully engages with these justifications. Like the","paragraphs":["para_624","para_625","para_626"]},{"title":"(8th Cir. 1995) (emphasis added), to show that the presence of a wet signature is “not","paragraphs":["para_628","para_629","para_630","para_631","para_632"]},{"title":"Aside from the court’s burden-shifting error, the evidence it wants is itself","paragraphs":["para_634","para_635","para_636","para_637","para_638"]},{"title":"485 U.S. 759, 771 (1988) (focusing on “whether the [information is] predictably","paragraphs":["para_640","para_641","para_642","para_643"]},{"title":"In the modern era, IRS officials and bank tellers do not pull out a magnifying","paragraphs":["para_645"]},{"title":"Cooper v. Union Bank, 507 P.2d 609, 620 (Cal. 1973) (explaining that banks “may","paragraphs":["para_647","para_648","para_649","para_650","para_651","para_652"]},{"title":"(describing how the comparison of seals on two documents showed that one was a","paragraphs":["para_654","para_655","para_656","para_657","para_658","para_659","para_660"]},{"title":"Signature in Law: From the Thirteenth Century to the Facsimile 9 (2022) (explaining","paragraphs":["para_662","para_663"]},{"title":"The fact that Arkansas allows the use of any mark, even an “X,” does not make","paragraphs":["para_665","para_666"]},{"title":"See Game Place, L.L.C., 813 S.E.2d at 317. The trend started in Arkansas by the","paragraphs":["para_668","para_669","para_670","para_671","para_672","para_673"]},{"title":"Constitution of 1868.”). It should be no surprise that voter-registration requirements","paragraphs":["para_675","para_676"]},{"title":"203, 204 (Ark. 1926) (accepting a “mark” as “just as effective as if signed by . . . [a]","paragraphs":["para_678","para_679","para_680"]},{"title":"Watson v. Billings, 38 Ark. 278, 283 (1881) (describing a statute that allowed a mark","paragraphs":["para_682","para_683","para_684","para_685","para_686","para_687"]},{"title":"It also asks too much. Part of the reason why a wet-signature rule is relevant","paragraphs":["para_689"]},{"title":"F.3d at 618 (noting its ability to “prevent[] fraud by ensuring the authenticity of","paragraphs":["para_691","para_692","para_693","para_694"]},{"title":"John Doe No. 1 v. Reed, 561 U.S. 186, 197 (2010) (explaining that states have","paragraphs":["para_696","para_697"]},{"title":"Materiality, after all, is not a high bar. Clearing it requires neither perfection","paragraphs":["para_699"]},{"title":"10101(a)(2)(B)] does not establish a least-restrictive-alternative test for","paragraphs":["para_701"]},{"title":"553 U.S. 181, 196 (2008) (“While the most effective method of preventing election","paragraphs":["para_703","para_704","para_705"]},{"title":"Comm., 594 U.S. 647, 686 (2021) (recognizing that a state “may take action to","paragraphs":["para_707","para_708","para_709","para_710","para_711"]},{"title":"See Ex parte Miller, 3 S.W. at 883. It is ironic that the court would twist an","paragraphs":["para_713","para_714","para_715","para_716"]},{"title":"In my view, there has been no showing, let alone a “clear” one, Winter, 555","paragraphs":[]},{"title":"U.S. at 22, that a wet signature is immaterial, particularly when it comes to","paragraphs":["para_719","para_720","para_721","para_722","para_723","para_724"]}],"paragraphs":[{"text":"United States Court of Appeals","paragraph_id":"para_1"},{"text":"For the Eighth Circuit","paragraph_id":"para_2"},{"text":"___________________________","paragraph_id":"para_3"},{"text":"No. 24-2810","paragraph_id":"para_4"},{"text":"___________________________","paragraph_id":"para_5"},{"text":"Get Loud Arkansas; Vote.org; Nikki Pastor; Trinity Blake Loper,","paragraph_id":"para_6"},{"text":"lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiffs - Appellees,","paragraph_id":"para_7"},{"text":"v.","paragraph_id":"para_8"},{"text":"Cole Jester, in his official capacity as Secretary of State; Sharon Brooks, in her","paragraph_id":"para_9"},{"text":"official capacity as Commissioner of the Arkansas State Board of Election","paragraph_id":"para_10"},{"text":"Commissioners; Jamie Clemmer, in official capacity as Commissioner of the","paragraph_id":"para_11"},{"text":"Arkansas State Board of Election Commissioners; Bilenda Harris-Ritter, in her","paragraph_id":"para_12"},{"text":"official capacity as Commissioner of the Arkansas State Board of Election","paragraph_id":"para_13"},{"text":"Commissioners; William Luther, in his official capacity as Commissioner of the","paragraph_id":"para_14"},{"text":"Arkansas State Board of Election Commissioners; James H. Smith, III, in his","paragraph_id":"para_15"},{"text":"official capacity as Commissioner of the Arkansas State Board of Election","paragraph_id":"para_16"},{"text":"Commissioners; Jonathan Williams, in his official capacity as Commissioner of","paragraph_id":"para_17"},{"text":"the Arkansas State Board of Election Commissioners,","paragraph_id":"para_18"},{"text":"lllllllllllllllllllllDefendants - Appellants,","paragraph_id":"para_19"},{"text":"Betsy Harrell, in her official capacity as Benton County Clerk; Becky Lewallen, in","paragraph_id":"para_20"},{"text":"her official capacity as Washington County Clerk; Terri Hollingsworth, in her","paragraph_id":"para_21"},{"text":"official capacity as Pulaski County Clerk,","paragraph_id":"para_22"},{"text":"lllllllllllllllllllllDefendants.","paragraph_id":"para_23"},{"text":"------------------------------","paragraph_id":"para_24"},{"text":"Center for Election Confidence, Inc.; Honest Elections Project; Restoring Integrity","paragraph_id":"para_25"},{"text":"and Trust in Elections, Inc.,","paragraph_id":"para_26"},{"text":"lllllllllllllllllllllAmici on Behalf of Appellant(s),","paragraph_id":"para_27"},{"text":"United States,","paragraph_id":"para_28"},{"text":"lllllllllllllllllllllAmicus on Behalf of Appellee(s).","paragraph_id":"para_29"},{"text":"____________","paragraph_id":"para_30"},{"text":"Appeal from United States District Court","paragraph_id":"para_31"},{"text":"for the Western District of Arkansas - Fayetteville","paragraph_id":"para_32"},{"text":"____________","paragraph_id":"para_33"},{"text":"Submitted: September 18, 2025","paragraph_id":"para_34"},{"text":"Filed: March 31, 2026","paragraph_id":"para_35"},{"text":"____________","paragraph_id":"para_36"},{"text":"Before COLLOTON, Chief Judge, ERICKSON and STRAS, Circuit Judges.","paragraph_id":"para_37"},{"text":"____________","paragraph_id":"para_38"},{"text":"COLLOTON, Chief Judge.","paragraph_id":"para_39"},{"text":"Get Loud Arkansas and others sued to enjoin a rule promulgated by the","paragraph_id":"para_40"},{"text":"Arkansas State Board of Election Commissioners. Get Loud asserts that the rule,","paragraph_id":"para_41"},{"text":"which provides that voter registration applications must include a handwritten or","paragraph_id":"para_42"},{"text":"“wet” signature, violates a provision of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 52 U.S.C.","paragraph_id":"para_43"},{"text":"§ 10101(a)(2)(B). This provision states that no person acting under color of law shall","paragraph_id":"para_44"},{"text":"deny the right of any individual to vote in any election because of an error or","paragraph_id":"para_45"},{"text":"omission on a voter registration application that is not material in determining","paragraph_id":"para_46"},{"text":"whether the individual is qualified under state law to vote in the election. The district","paragraph_id":"para_47"},{"text":"court1 determined that the Arkansas rule likely violated federal law, and entered a","paragraph_id":"para_48"},{"text":"preliminary injunction after examining the other relevant factors. The Board appeals,","paragraph_id":"para_49"},{"text":"and we affirm.","paragraph_id":"para_50"},{"text":"1The Honorable Timothy L. Brooks, now Chief Judge, United States District","paragraph_id":"para_51"},{"text":"Court for the Western District of Arkansas.","paragraph_id":"para_52"},{"text":"-2-","paragraph_id":"para_53"},{"text":"I.","paragraph_id":"para_54"},{"text":"To vote in Arkansas, one must be at least 18 years old, a citizen of the United","paragraph_id":"para_55"},{"text":"States, a resident of Arkansas, neither adjudicated mentally incompetent nor","paragraph_id":"para_56"},{"text":"convicted of a felony, and registered to vote. Ark. Const. art. 3, § 1(a)(1)-(4); id.","paragraph_id":"para_57"},{"text":"amend. 51 § 11(a)(4), (5). Amendment 51 to the state constitution addresses voter","paragraph_id":"para_58"},{"text":"registration. To register, an applicant must complete a registration form with a","paragraph_id":"para_59"},{"text":"“signature or mark” affirming under penalty of perjury that the applicant satisfies","paragraph_id":"para_60"},{"text":"these requirements. Id. amend. 51 § 6(a)(3)(F). A person may submit a voting","paragraph_id":"para_61"},{"text":"application himself, submit the application through a third-party registration","paragraph_id":"para_62"},{"text":"organization, or register at a designated state registration agency. Id. amend. 51","paragraph_id":"para_63"},{"text":"§§ 5(a); 6(a)(2)(G).","paragraph_id":"para_64"},{"text":"In early 2023, Get Loud Arkansas developed an online voter registration tool.","paragraph_id":"para_65"},{"text":"The tool enabled an applicant to complete his voter registration application on a","paragraph_id":"para_66"},{"text":"mobile device or computer, and to sign the application digitally using a stylus, finger,","paragraph_id":"para_67"},{"text":"or computer mouse. The applicant could then authorize Get Loud to print and submit","paragraph_id":"para_68"},{"text":"the form on behalf of the applicant.","paragraph_id":"para_69"},{"text":"Before launching the online registration tool, Get Loud’s executive director","paragraph_id":"para_70"},{"text":"contacted the Arkansas Secretary of State to confirm that the tool complied with","paragraph_id":"para_71"},{"text":"Arkansas law. Get Loud asked the Secretary whether a wet signature is required on","paragraph_id":"para_72"},{"text":"a voter registration application. In an e-mail to Get Loud’s deputy director, an","paragraph_id":"para_73"},{"text":"assistant director of elections in the Secretary’s office wrote that the office’s attorneys","paragraph_id":"para_74"},{"text":"concluded that Arkansas law does not require a wet signature.","paragraph_id":"para_75"},{"text":"Get Loud introduced the online registration tool in January 2024. After","paragraph_id":"para_76"},{"text":"launching the tool, Get Loud observed a significant increase in completed","paragraph_id":"para_77"},{"text":"registrations at in-person registration events. Because Get Loud no longer needed to","paragraph_id":"para_78"},{"text":"provide voters with paper applications at events, the organization’s voter registration","paragraph_id":"para_79"},{"text":"-3-","paragraph_id":"para_80"},{"text":"efforts were more successful and cost-effective. The tool also enabled Get Loud to","paragraph_id":"para_81"},{"text":"register voters in all seventy-five counties in Arkansas. On February 26, an article","paragraph_id":"para_82"},{"text":"in the Arkansas Times reported that Get Loud had registered 358 voters using the","paragraph_id":"para_83"},{"text":"tool and that 78 percent of the voters registered were under twenty years old.","paragraph_id":"para_84"},{"text":"On February 28, two days after the article reported the success of Get Loud’s","paragraph_id":"para_85"},{"text":"online tool, Arkansas Secretary of State Thurston instructed county clerks to stop","paragraph_id":"para_86"},{"text":"accepting voter registration applications executed by electronic signature. On March","paragraph_id":"para_87"},{"text":"12, Secretary Thurston requested a formal opinion from Arkansas Attorney General","paragraph_id":"para_88"},{"text":"Griffin on the legality of digital signatures. Attorney General Griffin issued a formal","paragraph_id":"para_89"},{"text":"opinion that “an electronic signature or mark is generally valid under Arkansas law.”","paragraph_id":"para_90"},{"text":"General Griffin wrote that “given the historical acceptance of signatures produced","paragraph_id":"para_91"},{"text":"through a variety of means, the widespread acceptance of electronic signatures, and","paragraph_id":"para_92"},{"text":"the fact that Amendment 51 does not contain any restriction on how a ‘signature or","paragraph_id":"para_93"},{"text":"mark’ may be made, I believe that an electronic signature satisfies Amendment 51’s","paragraph_id":"para_94"},{"text":"‘signature or mark’ requirement.”","paragraph_id":"para_95"},{"text":"After receiving the attorney general’s opinion, the Board adopted an emergency","paragraph_id":"para_96"},{"text":"rule that narrowed the definition of “signature or mark” to include only wet","paragraph_id":"para_97"},{"text":"signatures. The new rule excludes any signature or mark that “utilizes a computer to","paragraph_id":"para_98"},{"text":"generate or recreate the applicant’s signature or mark.” The emergency rule required","paragraph_id":"para_99"},{"text":"a registrant to make “a handwritten wet signature or handwritten wet mark . . . on a","paragraph_id":"para_100"},{"text":"Registration Application Form with a pen or other writing device that is physically","paragraph_id":"para_101"},{"text":"moved across the form and that forms the applicant’s signature or mark on the paper","paragraph_id":"para_102"},{"text":"form.” The emergency rule took effect on May 4 and expired on September 1. After","paragraph_id":"para_103"},{"text":"opening the rule to public comment, the Board replaced the emergency rule with an","paragraph_id":"para_104"},{"text":"identical permanent rule that was approved by the Arkansas Legislative Council and","paragraph_id":"para_105"},{"text":"effective on September 2.","paragraph_id":"para_106"},{"text":"-4-","paragraph_id":"para_107"},{"text":"The rule had an immediate effect on Get Loud’s operations. To ensure that its","paragraph_id":"para_108"},{"text":"voter registration activities complied with the rule, Get Loud spent additional time,","paragraph_id":"para_109"},{"text":"labor, and money to redesign its digital registration tool, and hired additional staff to","paragraph_id":"para_110"},{"text":"register voters with paper applications. Get Loud’s deputy executive director averred","paragraph_id":"para_111"},{"text":"that the pace at which the organization was able to register new voters “declined","paragraph_id":"para_112"},{"text":"precipitously” after the rule went into effect. The rule effectively forbade Get Loud","paragraph_id":"para_113"},{"text":"to use its most successful voter registration tool during the ten weeks leading up to","paragraph_id":"para_114"},{"text":"the 2024 federal elections.","paragraph_id":"para_115"},{"text":"On June 5, 2024, one month after the rule went into effect, Get Loud and others","paragraph_id":"para_116"},{"text":"sued and alleged that the rule violated § 101 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This","paragraph_id":"para_117"},{"text":"provision, commonly known as the “Materiality Provision” states that:","paragraph_id":"para_118"},{"text":"No person acting under color of law shall . . . deny the right of any","paragraph_id":"para_119"},{"text":"individual to vote in any election because of an error or omission on any","paragraph_id":"para_120"},{"text":"record or paper relating to any application, registration, or other act","paragraph_id":"para_121"},{"text":"requisite to voting, if such error or omission is not material in","paragraph_id":"para_122"},{"text":"determining whether such individual is qualified under State law to vote","paragraph_id":"para_123"},{"text":"in such election.","paragraph_id":"para_124"},{"text":"52 U.S.C. § 10101(a)(2)(B).","paragraph_id":"para_125"},{"text":"The district court granted Get Loud’s motion for a preliminary injunction. The","paragraph_id":"para_126"},{"text":"court enjoined the election commissioners and county clerks from enforcing the rule","paragraph_id":"para_127"},{"text":"and from rejecting voter registration applications on the ground that they were","paragraph_id":"para_128"},{"text":"completed with a digital or electronic signature.","paragraph_id":"para_129"},{"text":"The Board appeals on several grounds. We consider the question of Article III","paragraph_id":"para_130"},{"text":"standing de novo. In reviewing the issuance of a preliminary injunction, we consider","paragraph_id":"para_131"},{"text":"the threat of irreparable harm to the movant, the likelihood that the movant will","paragraph_id":"para_132"},{"text":"succeed on the merits, the balance between the harm to the movant and the injury that","paragraph_id":"para_133"},{"text":"-5-","paragraph_id":"para_134"},{"text":"an injunction would inflict on other parties, and the public interest. Dataphase Sys.,","paragraph_id":"para_135"},{"text":"Inc. v. C L Sys., Inc., 640 F.2d 109, 113 (8th Cir. 1981) (en banc). The ultimate","paragraph_id":"para_136"},{"text":"decision to grant an injunction is reviewed for abuse of discretion, with factual","paragraph_id":"para_137"},{"text":"findings examined for clear error and legal conclusions considered de novo. Osthus","paragraph_id":"para_138"},{"text":"v. Whitesell Corp., 639 F.3d 841, 844 (8th Cir. 2011).","paragraph_id":"para_139"},{"text":"II.","paragraph_id":"para_140"},{"text":"A.","paragraph_id":"para_141"},{"text":"To establish Article III standing, a plaintiff must show an injury in fact that is","paragraph_id":"para_142"},{"text":"fairly traceable to the defendant’s challenged action and is likely redressable by a","paragraph_id":"para_143"},{"text":"favorable judicial decision. Lujan v. Defs. of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 560-61 (1992).","paragraph_id":"para_144"},{"text":"An organizational plaintiff satisfies the injury-in-fact requirement if a defendant’s","paragraph_id":"para_145"},{"text":"actions directly affected and interfered with the organization’s core business","paragraph_id":"para_146"},{"text":"activities. FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, 602 U.S. 367, 395 (2024); see","paragraph_id":"para_147"},{"text":"Havens Realty Corp. v. Coleman, 455 U.S. 363, 379 (1982).","paragraph_id":"para_148"},{"text":"Get Loud has established that it suffered an injury in fact. The challenged rule","paragraph_id":"para_149"},{"text":"directly interfered with Get Loud’s voter registration activities by prohibiting the use","paragraph_id":"para_150"},{"text":"of its online registration tool and forcing Get Loud to collect hand-written signatures","paragraph_id":"para_151"},{"text":"to register voters. To comply with the rule, Get Loud spent additional time, labor,","paragraph_id":"para_152"},{"text":"and resources to redesign its online tool and hired additional staff. Get Loud has","paragraph_id":"para_153"},{"text":"established that these actions were necessary to comply with the rule and that the","paragraph_id":"para_154"},{"text":"organization was substantially less effective in registering eligible voters after the","paragraph_id":"para_155"},{"text":"rule was implemented. The rule impaired Get Loud’s ability to provide voter","paragraph_id":"para_156"},{"text":"registration services, and the organization satisfies the injury-in-fact requirement.","paragraph_id":"para_157"},{"text":"The Board argues that Get Loud cannot manufacture an injury merely by","paragraph_id":"para_158"},{"text":"diverting resources in response to a defendant’s action. It is true that an organization","paragraph_id":"para_159"},{"text":"-6-","paragraph_id":"para_160"},{"text":"cannot “spend its way into standing,” Alliance, 602 U.S. at 394, but that is not what","paragraph_id":"para_161"},{"text":"happened here. The rule effectively forbade Get Loud to use its online registration","paragraph_id":"para_162"},{"text":"tool. When regulations “require or forbid some action by the plaintiff,” standing is","paragraph_id":"para_163"},{"text":"“usually easy to establish.” Alliance, 602 U.S. at 382. Because Get Loud was","paragraph_id":"para_164"},{"text":"forbidden to use its online registration tool, which was an important element of its","paragraph_id":"para_165"},{"text":"core business activities, the organization has suffered an injury in fact.","paragraph_id":"para_166"},{"text":"Get Loud has also established causation and redressability. Get Loud’s injury","paragraph_id":"para_167"},{"text":"was caused by the rule’s prohibition on digital signatures, and the injury can be","paragraph_id":"para_168"},{"text":"remedied by an injunction against enforcement of the rule. Thus, Get Loud satisfies","paragraph_id":"para_169"},{"text":"the requirements for Article III standing. Because the organizational plaintiff has","paragraph_id":"para_170"},{"text":"standing to seek all of the relief at issue, it is unnecessary to address the standing of","paragraph_id":"para_171"},{"text":"other plaintiffs.","paragraph_id":"para_172"},{"text":"B.","paragraph_id":"para_173"},{"text":"The district court determined that the Materiality Provision creates a private","paragraph_id":"para_174"},{"text":"right of action enforceable through 42 U.S.C. § 1983. See Health & Hosp. Corp. of","paragraph_id":"para_175"},{"text":"Marion Cnty. v. Talevski, 599 U.S. 166, 183-91 (2023). At oral argument, the Board","paragraph_id":"para_176"},{"text":"waived any challenge to that ruling:","paragraph_id":"para_177"},{"text":"Frankly, on the private right of action, I recognize there is some pretty","paragraph_id":"para_178"},{"text":"compelling authority recognizing the private right of action under the","paragraph_id":"para_179"},{"text":"Materiality Provision, including in the Callanen case, which I would","paragraph_id":"para_180"},{"text":"respectfully submit the Fifth Circuit’s decision in that case should guide","paragraph_id":"para_181"},{"text":"this Court’s analysis.","paragraph_id":"para_182"},{"text":"In Vote.org v. Callanen, 89 F.4th 459 (5th Cir. 2023), the Fifth Circuit agreed with","paragraph_id":"para_183"},{"text":"decisions of the Third and Eleventh Circuits that the Materiality Provision creates an","paragraph_id":"para_184"},{"text":"individual right that is enforceable under § 1983. Id. at 476-78; see Migliori v.","paragraph_id":"para_185"},{"text":"Cohen, 36 F.4th 153, 159 (3d Cir.), judgment vacated as moot sub nom. Ritter v.","paragraph_id":"para_186"},{"text":"-7-","paragraph_id":"para_187"},{"text":"Migliori, 143 S. Ct. 297 (2022) (mem.); Schwier v. Cox, 340 F.3d 1284, 1297 (11th","paragraph_id":"para_188"},{"text":"Cir. 2003). When asked to elaborate on the Board’s position, counsel confirmed that","paragraph_id":"para_189"},{"text":"he was waiving any challenge to the district court’s decision on this issue: “In","paragraph_id":"para_190"},{"text":"keeping with the Callanen opinion, which recognized the private right of action, I","paragraph_id":"para_191"},{"text":"would be willing to concede that issue here today.” We therefore accept as","paragraph_id":"para_192"},{"text":"unchallenged in this case the district court’s conclusion that the Materiality Provision","paragraph_id":"para_193"},{"text":"creates an individual right that is enforceable under § 1983.","paragraph_id":"para_194"},{"text":"C.","paragraph_id":"para_195"},{"text":"The Materiality Provision prohibits denial of an individual’s right to vote based","paragraph_id":"para_196"},{"text":"on “an error or omission” in a registration document if such error or omission is “not","paragraph_id":"para_197"},{"text":"material in determining whether such individual is qualified under State law to vote.”","paragraph_id":"para_198"},{"text":"52 U.S.C. § 10101(a)(2)(B). An error is “material” when it is “important” or has","paragraph_id":"para_199"},{"text":"“influence or effect” over a decision maker. Material, Black’s Law Dictionary 1128","paragraph_id":"para_200"},{"text":"(4th ed. 1951). The legal meaning of materiality typically sets a “demanding”","paragraph_id":"para_201"},{"text":"standard; a matter is “material” only if a reasonable person “would attach importance","paragraph_id":"para_202"},{"text":"to [it] in determining his choice of action.” Universal Health Servs., Inc. v. United","paragraph_id":"para_203"},{"text":"States, 579 U.S. 176, 193-94 (2016) (quoting Restatement (Second) of Torts § 538,","paragraph_id":"para_204"},{"text":"at 80). Under the Materiality Provision, a state actor cannot deny the right to vote","paragraph_id":"para_205"},{"text":"based on an error or omission in a registration form unless the error is “material in","paragraph_id":"para_206"},{"text":"determining” whether an applicant is qualified to vote. 52 U.S.C. § 10101(a)(2)(B).","paragraph_id":"para_207"},{"text":"When a person applies to register to vote in Arkansas, the registrant must attest","paragraph_id":"para_208"},{"text":"under penalty of perjury that she meets every qualification to vote. Ark. Const.","paragraph_id":"para_209"},{"text":"amend. 51 § 6(a)(2)(B). The rule provides that the registrant’s attestation must be","paragraph_id":"para_210"},{"text":"made with a handwritten signature or mark on an application.","paragraph_id":"para_211"},{"text":"There is no evidence, however, that Arkansas election officials use the type of","paragraph_id":"para_212"},{"text":"signature on a registration form in determining whether an applicant is qualified to","paragraph_id":"para_213"},{"text":"-8-","paragraph_id":"para_214"},{"text":"vote. The district court found that “the record evidence shows that the ‘wetness’ of","paragraph_id":"para_215"},{"text":"a signature does not affect county officials’ determinations of qualifications at all.”","paragraph_id":"para_216"},{"text":"Ample evidence supports the finding. Before the Board adopted the new rule,","paragraph_id":"para_217"},{"text":"Arkansas election officials received applications with both wet and digital signatures,","paragraph_id":"para_218"},{"text":"and officials did not consider “the type of instrument used in signing or marking a","paragraph_id":"para_219"},{"text":"voter registration application as a factor in determining whether the applicant is or is","paragraph_id":"para_220"},{"text":"not qualified to vote in Arkansas.” County clerks are instructed to accept voter","paragraph_id":"para_221"},{"text":"registration applications with “any type of signature or mark,” even if the signature","paragraph_id":"para_222"},{"text":"is illegible. County clerks are not trained to analyze or compare signatures. Training","paragraph_id":"para_223"},{"text":"sessions “made clear to officials reviewing voter registrations for signature matches","paragraph_id":"para_224"},{"text":"that they are not signature analysts, and they are taught to err on the side of the voter.”","paragraph_id":"para_225"},{"text":"As the district court explained, the Board did not “present argument or evidence as","paragraph_id":"para_226"},{"text":"to how a wet signature—as compared to a digital signature—aids in determining","paragraph_id":"para_227"},{"text":"whether a person” is qualified to vote under Arkansas law.","paragraph_id":"para_228"},{"text":"The Board argues that the wet signature requirement is material in determining","paragraph_id":"para_229"},{"text":"a voter’s qualifications because the signature confirms an applicant’s existence and","paragraph_id":"para_230"},{"text":"identity. This argument is both forfeited and without merit. The evidence shows that","paragraph_id":"para_231"},{"text":"signatures are not used by Arkansas election officials to confirm an applicant’s","paragraph_id":"para_232"},{"text":"identity or existence at the registration stage. The Board has not shown that a","paragraph_id":"para_233"},{"text":"handwritten signature or “X” confirms an applicant’s identity or existence. There is","paragraph_id":"para_234"},{"text":"no guarantee that a person who submits a paper registration form marked with an “X”","paragraph_id":"para_235"},{"text":"will do so on behalf of a person who exists or that the identity of the person signing","paragraph_id":"para_236"},{"text":"or marking the form will match the name on the application. Even if this argument","paragraph_id":"para_237"},{"text":"had been raised in the district court, the record does not support a finding that the type","paragraph_id":"para_238"},{"text":"of signature is material in determining a voter’s existence and identity.","paragraph_id":"para_239"},{"text":"The Board also maintains that compliance with the signature rule is material","paragraph_id":"para_240"},{"text":"because it is useful in preventing voter registration fraud. The Board, citing decisions","paragraph_id":"para_241"},{"text":"concerning the constitutional right to vote, suggests that the court should give","paragraph_id":"para_242"},{"text":"-9-","paragraph_id":"para_243"},{"text":"considerable deference to a state’s chosen election procedures and balance the state’s","paragraph_id":"para_244"},{"text":"asserted interest with the burden imposed on voters. See Crawford v. Marion Cnty","paragraph_id":"para_245"},{"text":"Election Bd., 553 U.S. 181, 197 (2008); Purcell v. Gonzalez, 549 U.S. 1, 4 (2006).","paragraph_id":"para_246"},{"text":"The Board’s reliance on constitutional right-to-vote cases is misplaced, however,","paragraph_id":"para_247"},{"text":"because the Materiality Provision calls for a different analytical framework. The","paragraph_id":"para_248"},{"text":"statute’s text contains no interest-burden balance. To pass muster, a rule must","paragraph_id":"para_249"},{"text":"actually be “material in determining” whether applicants are qualified to vote. 52","paragraph_id":"para_250"},{"text":"U.S.C. § 10101(a)(2)(B). In this respect, we find ourselves in agreement with the","paragraph_id":"para_251"},{"text":"dissenting opinion in Callanen, 89 F.4th at 491-92 (Higginson, J., dissenting), and","paragraph_id":"para_252"},{"text":"part company with the Callanen majority’s reliance in this context on cases","paragraph_id":"para_253"},{"text":"interpreting § 2 of the Voting Rights Act or the constitutional right to vote.","paragraph_id":"para_254"},{"text":"The Board cites no evidence to support its claim that a requirement of wet","paragraph_id":"para_255"},{"text":"signatures on registration applications is material to preventing voter fraud in","paragraph_id":"para_256"},{"text":"Arkansas. The record shows that county clerks do not analyze original wet signatures","paragraph_id":"para_257"},{"text":"from registration forms in an effort to detect fraud. Even if county clerks did attempt","paragraph_id":"para_258"},{"text":"to analyze signatures, the law allows a voter to register without signature by making","paragraph_id":"para_259"},{"text":"a simple mark such as an “X” on the form. State law and practice thus do not employ","paragraph_id":"para_260"},{"text":"a wet signature requirement as a means to detect fraud, and the absence of a","paragraph_id":"para_261"},{"text":"handwritten signature is not material on this record in determining whether a person","paragraph_id":"para_262"},{"text":"is qualified to vote.","paragraph_id":"para_263"},{"text":"The Board belatedly suggests in its reply brief that a wet signature carries a","paragraph_id":"para_264"},{"text":"“solemn weight” that is material in preventing voter fraud. There is no evidence,","paragraph_id":"para_265"},{"text":"however, that a wet signature is more “solemn” than a digital signature, and no","paragraph_id":"para_266"},{"text":"showing that the asserted solemnity of a wet signature deters voter fraud. When a","paragraph_id":"para_267"},{"text":"person signs a registration form, he attests to the accuracy of the application under","paragraph_id":"para_268"},{"text":"penalty of perjury. The sworn statement on Get Loud’s digital registration tool is","paragraph_id":"para_269"},{"text":"identical to the sworn statement on the Secretary’s paper form, so the solemn","paragraph_id":"para_270"},{"text":"-10-","paragraph_id":"para_271"},{"text":"consequences of submitting a fraudulent registration form are evident to an applicant","paragraph_id":"para_272"},{"text":"affixing either type of mark or signature.","paragraph_id":"para_273"},{"text":"In sum, Get Loud presented substantial evidence that the wet signature","paragraph_id":"para_274"},{"text":"requirement is immaterial in determining whether an individual is qualified under","paragraph_id":"para_275"},{"text":"state law to vote. The Board did not counter with evidence to undermine Get Loud’s","paragraph_id":"para_276"},{"text":"showing. The district court did not abuse its discretion or otherwise err in concluding","paragraph_id":"para_277"},{"text":"that Get Loud demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits of its claim that the","paragraph_id":"para_278"},{"text":"rule requiring wet signatures violates the Materiality Provision of the Civil Rights","paragraph_id":"para_279"},{"text":"Act.","paragraph_id":"para_280"},{"text":"We also agree with the district court that Get Loud showed a likelihood of","paragraph_id":"para_281"},{"text":"irreparable harm. An organization suffers irreparable harm when a defendant’s","paragraph_id":"para_282"},{"text":"conduct results in lost opportunities to conduct election-related activities such as","paragraph_id":"para_283"},{"text":"voter registration. League of Women Voters of U.S. v. Newby, 838 F.3d 1, 8-9 (D.C.","paragraph_id":"para_284"},{"text":"Cir. 2016). Get Loud lost opportunities to register voters before the 2024 elections","paragraph_id":"para_285"},{"text":"because it was prohibited from using its online tool and was forced to reallocate","paragraph_id":"para_286"},{"text":"resources to comply with the rule.","paragraph_id":"para_287"},{"text":"The remaining injunction factors—the balance of equities and the public","paragraph_id":"para_288"},{"text":"interest—merge when the government opposes a preliminary injunction. Nken v.","paragraph_id":"para_289"},{"text":"Holder, 556 U.S. 418, 435 (2009). There is no dispute that successful registration of","paragraph_id":"para_290"},{"text":"qualified voters is in the public interest, and the rule interfered with otherwise lawful","paragraph_id":"para_291"},{"text":"voter registration activities. The new rule prevented Get Loud from using its online","paragraph_id":"para_292"},{"text":"voter registration tool and significantly impaired its registration efforts. The State,","paragraph_id":"para_293"},{"text":"for example, rejected voter registration applications from two individual plaintiffs,","paragraph_id":"para_294"},{"text":"because they applied with a digital signature. The State’s arguments on equities and","paragraph_id":"para_295"},{"text":"public interest are unpersuasive where the State previously accepted digital signatures","paragraph_id":"para_296"},{"text":"without evidence of fraud or other deleterious consequences.","paragraph_id":"para_297"},{"text":"-11-","paragraph_id":"para_298"},{"text":"For these reasons, the district court did not abuse its discretion in enjoining","paragraph_id":"para_299"},{"text":"state officials from enforcing the rule requiring a wet signature on a voter registration","paragraph_id":"para_300"},{"text":"application. The order of the district court is affirmed. The motion to strike the","paragraph_id":"para_301"},{"text":"appellants’ post-argument letter is denied.","paragraph_id":"para_302"},{"text":"STRAS, Circuit Judge, dissenting.","paragraph_id":"para_303"},{"text":"Just because there are other ways to fight fraud does not mean that a method","paragraph_id":"para_304"},{"text":"Arkansas chose, the wet-signature rule, is “[im]material.” 52 U.S.C.","paragraph_id":"para_305"},{"text":"§ 10101(a)(2)(B). Handwritten signatures help ensure that those registering to vote","paragraph_id":"para_306"},{"text":"are who they claim to be and understand what they are doing. At the very least, the","paragraph_id":"para_307"},{"text":"plaintiffs have not made a “clear showing” to the contrary, Winter v. Nat. Res. Def.","paragraph_id":"para_308"},{"text":"Council, Inc., 555 U.S. 7, 22 (2008), so I would let Arkansas continue to require them","paragraph_id":"para_309"},{"text":"on voter-registration forms.","paragraph_id":"para_310"},{"text":"I.","paragraph_id":"para_311"},{"text":"Under federal law, state voting rules must be “material.” 52 U.S.C.","paragraph_id":"para_312"},{"text":"§ 10101(a)(2)(B) (prohibiting the denial of the right to vote due to “error[s] or","paragraph_id":"para_313"},{"text":"omission[s]” that are “not material in determining whether such individual is","paragraph_id":"para_314"},{"text":"qualified . . . to vote”). The Arkansas State Board of Election Commissioners has","paragraph_id":"para_315"},{"text":"conceded that the plaintiffs here can enforce this provision,2 so we must decide","paragraph_id":"para_316"},{"text":"2It took some procedural gymnastics to get to this point. Nothing today","paragraph_id":"para_317"},{"text":"forecloses an argument in a future case that no private cause of action exists to","paragraph_id":"para_318"},{"text":"enforce the materiality provision. See Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians","paragraph_id":"para_319"},{"text":"v. Howe, 137 F.4th 710, 713, 719 (8th Cir. 2025) (concluding that § 2 of the Voting","paragraph_id":"para_320"},{"text":"Rights Act lacks an individually enforceable right under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 based on","paragraph_id":"para_321"},{"text":"its “dual focus on the individuals protected and the entities regulated”); Ark. State","paragraph_id":"para_322"},{"text":"Conf. NAACP v. Ark. Bd. of Apportionment, 86 F.4th 1204, 1208–11 (8th Cir. 2023)","paragraph_id":"para_323"},{"text":"(holding that § 2 of the Voting Rights Act lacks a private right of action based on its","paragraph_id":"para_324"},{"text":"“remedial framework,” which leaves enforcement to the Attorney General); see also","paragraph_id":"para_325"},{"text":"Ark. United v. Thurston, 146 F.4th 673, 677–79 (8th Cir. 2025) (reaching the same","paragraph_id":"para_326"},{"text":"conclusion about § 208 of the Voting Rights Act).","paragraph_id":"para_327"},{"text":"-12-","paragraph_id":"para_328"},{"text":"whether a rule requiring voters to put pen to paper and sign their name on a","paragraph_id":"para_329"},{"text":"registration form is a “material” voting requirement. Id. The short answer is yes:","paragraph_id":"para_330"},{"text":"wet-signature rules have been around in various forms for centuries, and to this day","paragraph_id":"para_331"},{"text":"remain a powerful way of preventing fraud.","paragraph_id":"para_332"},{"text":"A.","paragraph_id":"para_333"},{"text":"Before signatures, people used seals, which involved making an impression on","paragraph_id":"para_334"},{"text":"a piece of paper, usually with wax or a similar substance. See 4 James Kent,","paragraph_id":"para_335"},{"text":"Commentaries on American Law *451; Frederick E. Crane, The Magic of the Private","paragraph_id":"para_336"},{"text":"Seal, 15 Colum. L. Rev. 24, 24 (1915). Many documents included them, from","paragraph_id":"para_337"},{"text":"government decrees and legal records to commercial agreements and private letters.","paragraph_id":"para_338"},{"text":"See 1 William Blackstone, Commentaries *260, *351 (discussing use of the “great","paragraph_id":"para_339"},{"text":"seal” on various orders of the king); G.V.B. Mining Co. v. First Nat’l Bank of Hailey,","paragraph_id":"para_340"},{"text":"95 F. 23, 32–33 (9th Cir. 1899) (noting the requirement that “important contracts”","paragraph_id":"para_341"},{"text":"executed by a corporation include a “corporate seal”); The Complete Letter-Writer;","paragraph_id":"para_342"},{"text":"Or, Polite English Secretary 15–16 (Edinburgh, W. Darling 1778) (discussing the use","paragraph_id":"para_343"},{"text":"of seals in private correspondence). When used on legal documents, seals were “a","paragraph_id":"para_344"},{"text":"mark of authenticity” that provided “evidence of truth” and an “attestation” of their","paragraph_id":"para_345"},{"text":"contents. 2 William Blackstone, Commentaries *304–05. A related function was","paragraph_id":"para_346"},{"text":"impressing upon the parties the importance of the commitment they were making.","paragraph_id":"para_347"},{"text":"See Bates v. Bos. & N.Y.C.R. Co., 92 Mass. (1 Allen) 251, 254 (1865) (explaining that","paragraph_id":"para_348"},{"text":"one “purpose” of seals was to “certainly and effectually fix[]” the parties’ “attention”","paragraph_id":"para_349"},{"text":"on the act). They were burdensome, but they made “fraud[] less likely.” Warren v.","paragraph_id":"para_350"},{"text":"Lynch, 5 Johns. 239, 246 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 1810) (Kent, C.J.).","paragraph_id":"para_351"},{"text":"Over time, signatures replaced seals. The transition began with the Statute of","paragraph_id":"para_352"},{"text":"Frauds, which required certain types of contracts to be in writing and signed by hand.","paragraph_id":"para_353"},{"text":"See An Act for prevention of Frauds and Perjuries, 1677, 29 Car. 2, c. 3 (Eng.)","paragraph_id":"para_354"},{"text":"(listing the “prevention of . . . fraudulent Practices” as the reason for it); see also","paragraph_id":"para_355"},{"text":"Pratalongo v. Larco, 47 Cal. 378, 383 (1874) (“The English statute of frauds","paragraph_id":"para_356"},{"text":"-13-","paragraph_id":"para_357"},{"text":"require[d] certain contracts to be in writing, and to be signed by the party to be","paragraph_id":"para_358"},{"text":"charged thereby.”). Although the mechanism was different, the reasons were","paragraph_id":"para_359"},{"text":"familiar: “giving authenticity to the whole instrument,” underscoring the significance","paragraph_id":"para_360"},{"text":"of the act to the signers, and preventing fraud. Barry v. Coombe, 26 U.S. (1 Pet.) 640,","paragraph_id":"para_361"},{"text":"651 (1828) (explaining the signature requirement under Maryland’s statute of frauds);","paragraph_id":"para_362"},{"text":"see Waller v. Waller, 42 Va. (1 Gratt.) 454, 480 (1845) (opinion of Allen, J.) (noting","paragraph_id":"para_363"},{"text":"that the purpose of a signature on a will is to “give authenticity to the document”);","paragraph_id":"para_364"},{"text":"Warner v. Tex. & P. Ry. Co., 164 U.S. 418, 423 (1896) (discussing the widespread","paragraph_id":"para_365"},{"text":"adoption of the Statute of Frauds); In re Fransen’s Will, 2 Pa. 202, 206 (1856)","paragraph_id":"para_366"},{"text":"(explaining that the signature was one of the “solemnities of execution”). In the","paragraph_id":"para_367"},{"text":"American colonies, legislatures began allowing a “scroll”—a hand-drawn","paragraph_id":"para_368"},{"text":"“mark”—instead of a seal on certain documents. Game Place, L.L.C. v.","paragraph_id":"para_369"},{"text":"Fredericksburg 35, LLC, 813 S.E.2d 312, 317 & n.16 (Va. 2018) (discussing the","paragraph_id":"para_370"},{"text":"historical use of scrolls); see Black’s Law Dictionary 1620 (12th ed. 2024) (defining","paragraph_id":"para_371"},{"text":"a “scroll” as “a character affixed . . . in place of a seal,” also known as a “scrawl”).","paragraph_id":"para_372"},{"text":"It could be anything from a “flourish, tracing, mark, or design,” Pardee v. Johnston,","paragraph_id":"para_373"},{"text":"74 S.E. 721, 722 (W. Va. 1912) (citation omitted), to the letters “L.S.,” short for","paragraph_id":"para_374"},{"text":"“locus sigilli,” which in Latin meant “place of the seal,” Black’s Law Dictionary,","paragraph_id":"para_375"},{"text":"supra, at 1125 (defining “locus sigilli”); see Hastings v. Vaughn, 5 Cal. 315, 318","paragraph_id":"para_376"},{"text":"(1855) (describing the initials “L.S.” as “a good seal”).","paragraph_id":"para_377"},{"text":"In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, some legal documents, like land","paragraph_id":"para_378"},{"text":"deeds, needed both a written signature and a seal. See 2 Blackstone, Commentaries","paragraph_id":"para_379"},{"text":"*305–06 (noting that courts sometimes required “signing” and “sealing” for a","paragraph_id":"para_380"},{"text":"conveyance); 4 Kent, Commentaries *452–53 (same). It may sound old-fashioned","paragraph_id":"para_381"},{"text":"today, but it reflected a reluctance to move away from the “distinction and solemnity","paragraph_id":"para_382"},{"text":"of seals.” Warren, 5 Johns. at 247; see Bank of U.S. v. Dandridge, 25 U.S. (12","paragraph_id":"para_383"},{"text":"Wheat.) 64, 96 (1827) (“An instrument was much more certainly authenticated by the","paragraph_id":"para_384"},{"text":"seal, than by the name of the maker.”); 4 Kent, Commentaries *453 (arguing that","paragraph_id":"para_385"},{"text":"allowing a “flourish with the pen” or a “scroll” to suffice was “destroying the","paragraph_id":"para_386"},{"text":"character of seals”). It also reflected the reality that forgery of seals was more","paragraph_id":"para_387"},{"text":"-14-","paragraph_id":"para_388"},{"text":"difficult “than a stroke of the pen.”3 Oliver Wendell Holmes, The Common Law 272","paragraph_id":"para_389"},{"text":"(1923). Even into the early twentieth century, seals still had a limited role to play in","paragraph_id":"para_390"},{"text":"authenticating documents. See Briggs v. Partridge, 64 N.Y. 357, 361–62 (1876)","paragraph_id":"para_391"},{"text":"(recognizing the longstanding rule that a contract bearing the seal of an agent did not","paragraph_id":"para_392"},{"text":"bind the undisclosed principal, even though an unsealed contract did); Crowley v.","paragraph_id":"para_393"},{"text":"Lewis, 146 N.E. 374, 374 (N.Y. 1925) (continuing to distinguish between sealed and","paragraph_id":"para_394"},{"text":"unsealed documents under Briggs despite acknowledging that “the importance of the","paragraph_id":"para_395"},{"text":"seal in this state [was] much diminished”).","paragraph_id":"para_396"},{"text":"But by then, handwritten-signature requirements had asserted their dominance,","paragraph_id":"para_397"},{"text":"largely out of convenience. See Commonwealth ex rel. Arrott Steam-Power Mills Co.","paragraph_id":"para_398"},{"text":"v. Arnold, 29 A. 270, 270 (Pa. 1894) (“With the changes of custom and the diffusion","paragraph_id":"para_399"},{"text":"of education the written signature has, in practice, taken the place of the seal as the","paragraph_id":"para_400"},{"text":"important element of the certification.”); Strong v. Strong, 140 P.2d 386, 388 (Cal.","paragraph_id":"para_401"},{"text":"1943) (noting how “seals were replaced by signatures”). Even states that kept the old","paragraph_id":"para_402"},{"text":"sealing requirement would allow parties to satisfy it by “a mere scroll or flourish of","paragraph_id":"para_403"},{"text":"the pen.” Holmes, supra, at 273; see Crane, supra, at 24–25, 32–36 (discussing how","paragraph_id":"para_404"},{"text":"scrolls or the letters “L.S.” became substitutes for them). Wax seals, and the burdens","paragraph_id":"para_405"},{"text":"associated with them, became relics of the past.","paragraph_id":"para_406"},{"text":"We are now right in the middle of a similar evolution from handwritten","paragraph_id":"para_407"},{"text":"signatures to digital ones. Rather than printing a document and signing it with a pen,","paragraph_id":"para_408"},{"text":"3With seals, fraud took a different form. It was fairly simple to lift a seal from","paragraph_id":"para_409"},{"text":"one document and place it on another. See Edward Coke, 2 The Third Part of the","paragraph_id":"para_410"},{"text":"Institutes of the Laws of England 15 (London, M. Flesher 1644) (discussing how it","paragraph_id":"para_411"},{"text":"was considered a “great misprision” to “take wax lawfully imprinted with the great","paragraph_id":"para_412"},{"text":"seal, and fix it to a writing purporting a grant from the king”); 4 William Blackstone,","paragraph_id":"para_413"},{"text":"Commentaries *83 (discussing the “knavish artifice” of lifting “wax bearing the","paragraph_id":"para_414"},{"text":"impression of the great seal off from one patent, and fix[ing] it to another”).","paragraph_id":"para_415"},{"text":"Requiring both a signature and a seal was a way to ensure that the person executing","paragraph_id":"para_416"},{"text":"the document was who they purported to be. See 2 Blackstone, Commentaries *305;","paragraph_id":"para_417"},{"text":"Wood v. Owings, 5 U.S. (1 Cranch) 239, 247 (1803) (explaining that “at common","paragraph_id":"para_418"},{"text":"law,” a deed was both “signed” and “sealed”).","paragraph_id":"para_419"},{"text":"-15-","paragraph_id":"para_420"},{"text":"a person can type their name, draw a symbol with a stylus, or upload a facsimile of","paragraph_id":"para_421"},{"text":"their signature into an online form. See Black’s Law Dictionary, supra, at 1666","paragraph_id":"para_422"},{"text":"(defining an “electronic signature” as “[a]n electronic symbol, sound, or process” on","paragraph_id":"para_423"},{"text":"a document, including a “typed name” or “a digital image of a handwritten","paragraph_id":"para_424"},{"text":"signature”). In many situations, digital signatures get equal weight. See 15 U.S.C.","paragraph_id":"para_425"},{"text":"§ 7001(a)(1) (declaring that, for “any transaction in or affecting interstate or foreign","paragraph_id":"para_426"},{"text":"commerce[,] a signature . . . relating to such transaction may not be denied legal","paragraph_id":"para_427"},{"text":"effect, validity, or enforceability solely because it is in electronic form”).","paragraph_id":"para_428"},{"text":"Many, however, does not mean all. To this day, important documents,","paragraph_id":"para_429"},{"text":"including some once needing a seal, call for a handwritten signature. See, e.g., id.","paragraph_id":"para_430"},{"text":"§ 7003(a)–(b) (excepting “wills, codicils, or testamentary trusts”; papers related to","paragraph_id":"para_431"},{"text":"“adoption, divorce, or other matters of family law”; and documents governed by all","paragraph_id":"para_432"},{"text":"but a few sections of the Uniform Commercial Code from a provision requiring equal","paragraph_id":"para_433"},{"text":"recognition of digital signatures); 8 C.F.R. § 103.2(a)(2) (requiring a “handwritten”","paragraph_id":"para_434"},{"text":"signature for certain immigration forms unless the instructions allow e-filing). Just","paragraph_id":"para_435"},{"text":"in Arkansas, they include wills, promissory notes, bank loans, and certain court","paragraph_id":"para_436"},{"text":"filings. See Ark. Code Ann. §§ 25-32-103(a)–(b), -107 (allowing digital signatures","paragraph_id":"para_437"},{"text":"for all documents “relating to a transaction” except “wills, codicils, or testamentary","paragraph_id":"para_438"},{"text":"trusts” and promissory notes, bank loans, or other transactions governed by the","paragraph_id":"para_439"},{"text":"Uniform Commercial Code); Ark. Sup. Ct. Admin. Ord. No. 21, § 8(b) (calling for","paragraph_id":"para_440"},{"text":"an “original signature[]” for court documents made “under penalty of perjury or","paragraph_id":"para_441"},{"text":"requiring [the] signature of a notary public”).","paragraph_id":"para_442"},{"text":"The reasons have not changed. For those documents, a wet signature is the","paragraph_id":"para_443"},{"text":"something extra that authenticates them, “carries solemn weight,” and prevents fraud.","paragraph_id":"para_444"},{"text":"Vote.org v. Callanen, 89 F.4th 459, 489 (5th Cir. 2023) (citation omitted); see Weems","paragraph_id":"para_445"},{"text":"v. Smith, 237 S.W.2d 880, 883 (Ark. 1951) (“The purpose of . . . requiring wills to be","paragraph_id":"para_446"},{"text":"signed at the end is to prevent fraud.”); James v. Mounts, 644 S.W.3d 425, 432 (Ark.","paragraph_id":"para_447"},{"text":"Ct. App. 2022) (“The purpose of a signature is to authenticate the writing to which","paragraph_id":"para_448"},{"text":"it is affixed . . . .”), vacated on other grounds, 660 S.W.3d 801 (Ark. 2023). When","paragraph_id":"para_449"},{"text":"-16-","paragraph_id":"para_450"},{"text":"and whether to require one has always been a judgment call for policymakers, who","paragraph_id":"para_451"},{"text":"must balance security with convenience, the considerations that dominated the","paragraph_id":"para_452"},{"text":"centuries-long evolution from seals to scrolls to handwritten signatures. See 4 Kent,","paragraph_id":"para_453"},{"text":"Commentaries *452–53 (leaving it up to “municipal regulation” whether to require","paragraph_id":"para_454"},{"text":"a signature, a seal, or both). The balance they have struck, at least for now, is that","paragraph_id":"para_455"},{"text":"certain documents are just too important for digital signatures. See Callanen, 89","paragraph_id":"para_456"},{"text":"F.4th at 489; Aerotek, Inc. v. Boyd, 624 S.W.3d 199, 204–05 (Tex. 2021) (explaining","paragraph_id":"para_457"},{"text":"that the authenticity of a “handwritten, wet-ink signature” can be proven by a","paragraph_id":"para_458"},{"text":"“witness familiar with the signatory’s handwriting, or an expert who has compared","paragraph_id":"para_459"},{"text":"the signature against a genuine specimen,” but that “these authentication methods","paragraph_id":"para_460"},{"text":"may not be applicable to a purely electronic signature”).","paragraph_id":"para_461"},{"text":"To protect the “integrity of the voting process,” Common Cause Ind. v.","paragraph_id":"para_462"},{"text":"Lawson, 937 F.3d 944, 962 (7th Cir. 2019), Arkansas believes voter-registration","paragraph_id":"para_463"},{"text":"forms deserve the same treatment, see Ark. Const. amend. 51, § 6(a)(3)(F) (requiring","paragraph_id":"para_464"},{"text":"a “signature or mark” certifying “under penalty of perjury that the applicant meets","paragraph_id":"para_465"},{"text":"each requirement for voter registration”); 108.00.24 Ark. Code R. § 6 (defining a","paragraph_id":"para_466"},{"text":"“signature or mark” as “a handwritten wet signature or handwritten wet mark”). As","paragraph_id":"para_467"},{"text":"the Board’s director explained, physically signing a registration form is a secure way","paragraph_id":"para_468"},{"text":"of “affirm[ing] that [someone is] qualified to be a voter.” It provides a means of","paragraph_id":"para_469"},{"text":"“identification” and combats “fraud” more effectively than digital signatures, which","paragraph_id":"para_470"},{"text":"have only existed for about three and a half decades. See Jeremiah S. Buckley et al.,","paragraph_id":"para_471"},{"text":"The Law of Electronic Signatures and Records § 2:3 (May 2024 update) (noting that","paragraph_id":"para_472"},{"text":"less than half of the states had electronic-signature laws prior to the drafting of the","paragraph_id":"para_473"},{"text":"Uniform Electronic Transactions Act in the mid-1990s); cf. Miller v. Thurston, 967","paragraph_id":"para_474"},{"text":"F.3d 727, 741 (8th Cir. 2020) (stating that requiring “in-person signatures” for","paragraph_id":"para_475"},{"text":"initiative petitions “prevent[s] fraud”); Kendall v. Balcerzak, 650 F.3d 515, 526 (4th","paragraph_id":"para_476"},{"text":"Cir. 2011) (explaining that requiring a signature for comparison in voting helps","paragraph_id":"para_477"},{"text":"“detect[] fraudulent or otherwise improper signatures”). If Arkansas is right, the","paragraph_id":"para_478"},{"text":"materiality of the requirement speaks for itself. See 52 U.S.C. § 10101(a)(2)(B).","paragraph_id":"para_479"},{"text":"-17-","paragraph_id":"para_480"},{"text":"B.","paragraph_id":"para_481"},{"text":"As the court notes, the word “material” can have different meanings.","paragraph_id":"para_482"},{"text":"Sometimes, the definition is “relevant” or “pertinent.” Webster’s Third New","paragraph_id":"para_483"},{"text":"International Dictionary 1392 (1961). For example, when evaluating the materiality","paragraph_id":"para_484"},{"text":"of a false statement, the bar is low: it must have “a natural tendency to influence, or","paragraph_id":"para_485"},{"text":"[be] capable of influencing, the decision of the decisionmaking body to which it was","paragraph_id":"para_486"},{"text":"addressed.” Neder v. United States, 527 U.S. 1, 16 (1999) (emphasis added) (citation","paragraph_id":"para_487"},{"text":"omitted); see Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248 (1986) (defining an","paragraph_id":"para_488"},{"text":"issue as “material” for purposes of summary judgment if it “might affect the outcome","paragraph_id":"para_489"},{"text":"of the suit” (emphasis added)). Other times, it implies something “of real importance","paragraph_id":"para_490"},{"text":"or great consequence[,] substantial[,] . . . essential.” Webster’s Third, supra, at 1392.","paragraph_id":"para_491"},{"text":"An example is a prosecutor’s obligation to turn over “material” evidence, which","paragraph_id":"para_492"},{"text":"depends in part upon whether “a reasonable probability [exists] that, had [it] been","paragraph_id":"para_493"},{"text":"disclosed to the defense, the result of the proceeding would have been different.”","paragraph_id":"para_494"},{"text":"United States v. Bagley, 473 U.S. 667, 682 (1985) (plurality opinion) (emphasis","paragraph_id":"para_495"},{"text":"added); see Universal Health Servs., Inc. v. United States, 579 U.S. 176, 193–94","paragraph_id":"para_496"},{"text":"(2016).","paragraph_id":"para_497"},{"text":"When it comes to the materiality of “error[s] or omission[s]” in voting, the","paragraph_id":"para_498"},{"text":"debate centers on those same two possibilities. On one end is “minimal relevance,”","paragraph_id":"para_499"},{"text":"Fla. State Conf. of NAACP v. Browning, 522 F.3d 1153, 1174 (11th Cir. 2008): an","paragraph_id":"para_500"},{"text":"“error or omission” need only be relevant to “ascertain[ing] whether [someone] is","paragraph_id":"para_501"},{"text":"qualified to vote,” Pa. State Conf. of NAACP Branches v. Sec’y Commonwealth of","paragraph_id":"para_502"},{"text":"Pa., 97 F.4th 120, 134 (3d Cir. 2024). On the other is something “closer to outcome-","paragraph_id":"para_503"},{"text":"determinative,” which would cast aside all but the important, or even essential,","paragraph_id":"para_504"},{"text":"requirements of voting. Browning, 522 F.3d at 1174 (describing it as a “higher","paragraph_id":"para_505"},{"text":"burden”).","paragraph_id":"para_506"},{"text":"There is no definition of the word “material” in the Civil Rights Act, but the","paragraph_id":"para_507"},{"text":"“statute as a whole” provides a few clues about its meaning. Robinson v. Shell Oil,","paragraph_id":"para_508"},{"text":"-18-","paragraph_id":"para_509"},{"text":"Co., 519 U.S. 337, 341 (1997). The first is the opening line, which makes clear that","paragraph_id":"para_510"},{"text":"its focus is on protecting the right of “qualified” citizens “to vote at all . . . elections[]","paragraph_id":"para_511"},{"text":"without distinction of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” 52 U.S.C.","paragraph_id":"para_512"},{"text":"§ 10101(a)(1); cf. Bittner v. United States, 598 U.S. 85, 98 n.6 (2023) (“A preamble,","paragraph_id":"para_513"},{"text":"purpose clause, or recital is a permissible indicator of meaning.” (quoting Antonin","paragraph_id":"para_514"},{"text":"Scalia & Bryan A. Garner, Reading Law: The Interpretation of Legal Texts 217","paragraph_id":"para_515"},{"text":"(2012))). Then come three specific limitations on state election procedures, including","paragraph_id":"para_516"},{"text":"the one covering “error[s] or omission[s] on any record or paper” necessary for","paragraph_id":"para_517"},{"text":"voting. 52 U.S.C. § 10101(a)(2)(B). The other two prohibit discrimination in","paragraph_id":"para_518"},{"text":"“apply[ing] any standard, practice, or procedure” for elections and the use of “literacy","paragraph_id":"para_519"},{"text":"test[s],” both of which were ways of disenfranchising black voters in the Jim Crow","paragraph_id":"para_520"},{"text":"South. Id. § 10101(a)(2)(A), (C); see Shelby County v. Holder, 570 U.S. 529, 536","paragraph_id":"para_521"},{"text":"(2013) (discussing the history of literacy tests); Perkins v. City of West Helena, 675","paragraph_id":"para_522"},{"text":"F.2d 201, 210–11 (8th Cir. 1982) (describing other historical standards, practices, and","paragraph_id":"para_523"},{"text":"procedures that led to disenfranchisement, like “poll taxes” and a “whites[-]only”","paragraph_id":"para_524"},{"text":"primary).","paragraph_id":"para_525"},{"text":"What becomes clear, when reading the surrounding provisions, is that “State","paragraph_id":"para_526"},{"text":"law” has a role to play in figuring out who is “qualified . . . to vote,” 52 U.S.C.","paragraph_id":"para_527"},{"text":"§ 10101(a)(2)(B), but it cannot be a pretext for racial discrimination. One frequently","paragraph_id":"para_528"},{"text":"discussed example is making a voter “list the exact number of months and days in his","paragraph_id":"para_529"},{"text":"age.” Browning, 522 F.3d at 1173 (citation omitted); see Schwier v. Cox, 340 F.3d","paragraph_id":"para_530"},{"text":"1284, 1294 (11th Cir. 2003) (discussing the same example). A rule like that one is","paragraph_id":"para_531"},{"text":"“not material” because it is unrelated to “determining whether [an] individual is","paragraph_id":"para_532"},{"text":"qualified . . . to vote” in an election. 52 U.S.C. § 10101(a)(2)(B). A voter may have","paragraph_id":"para_533"},{"text":"to prove their age, but whether they can mathematically calculate and explain it in","paragraph_id":"para_534"},{"text":"various ways is not a qualification of voting. Consistent with the text, materiality","paragraph_id":"para_535"},{"text":"implies something closer to relevance: whether the rule is related to a voter’s","paragraph_id":"para_536"},{"text":"qualifications or just a discriminatory requirement masquerading as a legitimate one.","paragraph_id":"para_537"},{"text":"See Browning, 522 F.3d at 1174; Pa. State Conf. of NAACP Branches, 97 F.4th at 137","paragraph_id":"para_538"},{"text":"(noting that the materiality provision “target[s]” the discriminatory rejection of","paragraph_id":"para_539"},{"text":"-19-","paragraph_id":"para_540"},{"text":"registration forms based on “irrelevant mistakes”); Callanen, 89 F.4th at 482","paragraph_id":"para_541"},{"text":"(explaining that the materiality provision “was written . . . to capture well-disguised","paragraph_id":"para_542"},{"text":"discrimination”).","paragraph_id":"para_543"},{"text":"If the rule were otherwise, state legislatures would lose their ability to enact","paragraph_id":"para_544"},{"text":"“electoral procedures” of all kinds. Carson v. Simon, 978 F.3d 1051, 1062 (8th Cir.","paragraph_id":"para_545"},{"text":"2020) (per curiam); see U.S. Const. art. I, § 4, cl. 1 (entrusting the “Legislature” of","paragraph_id":"para_546"},{"text":"each “State” to “prescribe[]” the “Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections”).","paragraph_id":"para_547"},{"text":"Indeed, only the best ones—those that are important or essential—would survive,","paragraph_id":"para_548"},{"text":"approaching how the narrow-tailoring requirement of strict scrutiny works. See Reed","paragraph_id":"para_549"},{"text":"v. Town of Gilbert, 576 U.S. 155, 171 (2015) (requiring “the Government to prove","paragraph_id":"para_550"},{"text":"that the restriction furthers a compelling interest and is narrowly tailored to achieve","paragraph_id":"para_551"},{"text":"that interest” (citation omitted)); see also Callanen, 89 F.4th at 478 (rejecting","paragraph_id":"para_552"},{"text":"“essential” as “a reasonable meaning” of the materiality provision). Relevance, on","paragraph_id":"para_553"},{"text":"the other hand, tolerates imperfection, provided that the rule has some bearing on","paragraph_id":"para_554"},{"text":"“determining whether [an] individual is qualified . . . to vote.” 52 U.S.C.","paragraph_id":"para_555"},{"text":"§ 10101(a)(2)(B).","paragraph_id":"para_556"},{"text":"This one does. No one disputes that a signature or mark of some kind is","paragraph_id":"para_557"},{"text":"“material.” Id. Indeed, Arkansas’s Constitution makes one a condition of","paragraph_id":"para_558"},{"text":"registration. See Ark. Const. amend. 51, § 6(a)(3)(F) (using it to ensure “that the","paragraph_id":"para_559"},{"text":"applicant meets each requirement for voter registration”); id. § 3 (prohibiting","paragraph_id":"para_560"},{"text":"unregistered voting). Requiring a signature of any kind reminds “individuals who are","paragraph_id":"para_561"},{"text":"trying to register” that they must tell the truth and “actually [be] who they say they","paragraph_id":"para_562"},{"text":"are.” Callanen, 89 F.4th at 487; see Alderson v. Steinberg, 137 S.W.2d 925, 927","paragraph_id":"para_563"},{"text":"(Ark. 1940) (“By signing a document which may be placed of record, the person so","paragraph_id":"para_564"},{"text":"acting says to the world that he or she . . . did, in fact, execute the instrument.”).","paragraph_id":"para_565"},{"text":"Handwritten ones just do it better.","paragraph_id":"para_566"},{"text":"The most obvious advantage is the “solemn weight” of putting an actual pen","paragraph_id":"para_567"},{"text":"to paper, which forces potential voters to think twice about lying in a way that","paragraph_id":"para_568"},{"text":"-20-","paragraph_id":"para_569"},{"text":"drawing on a screen does not. Callanen, 89 F.4th at 489 (citation omitted)","paragraph_id":"para_570"},{"text":"(explaining how physically signing a printed document “has some prospect of getting","paragraph_id":"para_571"},{"text":"the attention of many applicants and dissuading false statements that an electronic","paragraph_id":"para_572"},{"text":"signature . . . does not”); see Eakin v. Adams Cnty. Bd. of Elections, 149 F.4th 291,","paragraph_id":"para_573"},{"text":"315 (3d Cir. 2025) (“Affixing one’s [handwritten] signature onto a legal document","paragraph_id":"para_574"},{"text":"does indeed constitute a solemn act.”). They also create a literal paper trail leading","paragraph_id":"para_575"},{"text":"back to the signer. See Aerotek, Inc., 624 S.W.3d at 204–05. Digital signatures, by","paragraph_id":"para_576"},{"text":"contrast, cannot be compared or verified in the same way, which makes them harder","paragraph_id":"para_577"},{"text":"to authenticate. See id. at 205 (noting the potential problem); see also Cloud Corp.","paragraph_id":"para_578"},{"text":"v. Hasbro, Inc., 314 F.3d 289, 296 (7th Cir. 2002) (remarking that “a handwritten","paragraph_id":"para_579"},{"text":"signature . . . is better evidence of identity than a typed one” (emphasis removed)).","paragraph_id":"para_580"},{"text":"These fraud-fighting features should be no surprise, given that wet signatures","paragraph_id":"para_581"},{"text":"have centuries-old roots in the Statute of Frauds. See 29 Car. 2, c. 3; Thompson v.","paragraph_id":"para_582"},{"text":"DeWine, 976 F.3d 610, 614, 618 (6th Cir. 2020) (holding that a wet-signature","paragraph_id":"para_583"},{"text":"requirement for ballot initiatives furthered a “legitimate” and “compelling” interest","paragraph_id":"para_584"},{"text":"in “preventing fraud by ensuring the authenticity of signatures”). Yet after this case,","paragraph_id":"para_585"},{"text":"Arkansas must abandon this tried-and-true method in favor of digital ones.","paragraph_id":"para_586"},{"text":"It is not hard to see how doing so will make fraud easier, faster, and harder to","paragraph_id":"para_587"},{"text":"detect. All it would take is finding another document with a valid signature, scanning","paragraph_id":"para_588"},{"text":"or taking a picture of it, and pasting it in. Cf. 4 Blackstone, Commentaries *83","paragraph_id":"para_589"},{"text":"(describing a similar practice with seals in which a person lifted the “wax bearing the","paragraph_id":"para_590"},{"text":"impression of the great seal off from one patent, and fixed it to another”); supra note","paragraph_id":"para_591"},{"text":"2 (explaining how signature requirements helped prevent this form of fraud). Digital","paragraph_id":"para_592"},{"text":"signatures could even turn up online, ready for pasting directly into the form. For","paragraph_id":"para_593"},{"text":"potential fraudsters interested in swaying elections, the advantages over copying","paragraph_id":"para_594"},{"text":"signatures by hand are obvious. Cf. United States v. Taylor, 159 F.4th 1136, 1140","paragraph_id":"para_595"},{"text":"(8th Cir. 2025) (emphasizing that “[v]oter fraud is no myth” and describing a scheme","paragraph_id":"para_596"},{"text":"involving dozens of fraudulent forms, including many with fake signatures); Voting","paragraph_id":"para_597"},{"text":"for Am., Inc. v. Steen, 732 F.3d 382, 394 (5th Cir. 2013) (discussing an incident in","paragraph_id":"para_598"},{"text":"-21-","paragraph_id":"para_599"},{"text":"which a “Project Vote employee was convicted . . . for submitting more than 400 fake","paragraph_id":"para_600"},{"text":"voter[-]registration applications” (first alteration in original) (citation omitted)); see","paragraph_id":"para_601"},{"text":"also Jay M. Zitter, Validity of Statute Restricting Voter Registration Solicitations by","paragraph_id":"para_602"},{"text":"Third Parties or Organizations, 55 A.L.R.6th 599 § 4 (2010) (discussing a case that","paragraph_id":"para_603"},{"text":"recognized how third-party voter registration has “at times become a vehicle for voter","paragraph_id":"para_604"},{"text":"fraud and voter[-]registration fraud”).","paragraph_id":"para_605"},{"text":"Even if it is not foolproof, a wet signature provides an added layer of security.","paragraph_id":"para_606"},{"text":"This advantage may explain why at least four other states insist on one for voter-","paragraph_id":"para_607"},{"text":"registration forms, see Fla. Stat. § 97.053(5)(a)(8) (calling for a handwritten signature","paragraph_id":"para_608"},{"text":"unless registering through the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles);","paragraph_id":"para_609"},{"text":"Ga. Code § 21-2-381(a)(1)(C)(i) (requiring one for an “appl[ication] for an absentee","paragraph_id":"para_610"},{"text":"ballot by mail”); Okla. Stat. tit. 26, § 4-112(B); Tex. Elec. Code § 13.143(d-2), and","paragraph_id":"para_611"},{"text":"three others for petitions or referenda, see Me. Const. art. IV, pt. 3, § 20 (requiring","paragraph_id":"para_612"},{"text":"all “written petition[s]” to include the “original signatures of the petitioners”); Ohio","paragraph_id":"para_613"},{"text":"Rev. Code § 3501.011(A) (stating that “whenever a person is required to sign or affix","paragraph_id":"para_614"},{"text":"a signature” to “any . . . kind of petition,” the signature must be a “written, cursive-","paragraph_id":"para_615"},{"text":"style legal mark”); Or. Rev. Stat. § 250.105(1)(e) (“A filed initiative or referendum","paragraph_id":"para_616"},{"text":"petition must contain only original signatures.”). Pundits and policymakers can","paragraph_id":"para_617"},{"text":"debate whether it is the best approach, but it is remarkable that the court says a","paragraph_id":"para_618"},{"text":"practice developed over centuries for just this purpose is immaterial to “determining","paragraph_id":"para_619"},{"text":"whether” the person turning in a registration form is really who they say they are and","paragraph_id":"para_620"},{"text":"“qualified . . . to vote.” 52 U.S.C. § 10101(a)(2)(B).","paragraph_id":"para_621"},{"text":"II.","paragraph_id":"para_622"},{"text":"The court never meaningfully engages with these justifications. Like the","paragraph_id":"para_623"},{"text":"district court, it appears to rely on a lack of “evidence” supporting the Board’s","paragraph_id":"para_624"},{"text":"“claim[s]” about its wet-signature rule. Ante, at 10. Yet at the preliminary-injunction","paragraph_id":"para_625"},{"text":"stage, the burden “rests entirely with the movant,” Goff v. Harper, 60 F.3d 518, 520","paragraph_id":"para_626"},{"text":"(8th Cir. 1995) (emphasis added), to show that the presence of a wet signature is “not","paragraph_id":"para_627"},{"text":"-22-","paragraph_id":"para_628"},{"text":"material,” 52 U.S.C. § 10101(a)(2)(B) (emphasis added). It is not the Board’s job to","paragraph_id":"para_629"},{"text":"prove it is. See Mazurek v. Armstrong, 520 U.S. 968, 972 (1997) (explaining that a","paragraph_id":"para_630"},{"text":"court may not grant a preliminary injunction “unless the movant, by a clear showing,","paragraph_id":"para_631"},{"text":"carries the burden of persuasion” (citation omitted)).","paragraph_id":"para_632"},{"text":"Aside from the court’s burden-shifting error, the evidence it wants is itself","paragraph_id":"para_633"},{"text":"immaterial. It claims that a wet-signature requirement must not matter because in","paragraph_id":"para_634"},{"text":"“practice” no county clerk uses it to “detect fraud.” Ante, at 10. The problem, of","paragraph_id":"para_635"},{"text":"course, is that materiality is about whether something could influence a decision, not","paragraph_id":"para_636"},{"text":"whether it does. See Neder, 527 U.S. at 16 (defining “material” as “capable of","paragraph_id":"para_637"},{"text":"influencing” a person (emphasis added) (citation omitted)); Kungys v. United States,","paragraph_id":"para_638"},{"text":"485 U.S. 759, 771 (1988) (focusing on “whether the [information is] predictably","paragraph_id":"para_639"},{"text":"capable of affecting . . . the official decision” (emphasis added)); see also Basic Inc.","paragraph_id":"para_640"},{"text":"v. Levinson, 485 U.S. 224, 234–35 (1988) (explaining that in the securities-fraud","paragraph_id":"para_641"},{"text":"context, the focus of the “materiality requirement” is on what a “reasonable investor”","paragraph_id":"para_642"},{"text":"would think (emphasis added)).","paragraph_id":"para_643"},{"text":"In the modern era, IRS officials and bank tellers do not pull out a magnifying","paragraph_id":"para_644"},{"text":"glass to examine the signatures on every form or check they receive. See, e.g.,","paragraph_id":"para_645"},{"text":"Cooper v. Union Bank, 507 P.2d 609, 620 (Cal. 1973) (explaining that banks “may","paragraph_id":"para_646"},{"text":"handle several thousand instruments bearing third[-]party indorsements in a single","paragraph_id":"para_647"},{"text":"day” and it is “commercially unreasonable” to expect them to “undertake foolproof","paragraph_id":"para_648"},{"text":"efforts” to verify them). Nor, it is safe to assume, did anyone scrutinize the wax seals","paragraph_id":"para_649"},{"text":"on every document. Rather, they offer a way to evaluate claims of fraud when there","paragraph_id":"para_650"},{"text":"are other reasons to suspect it. See Aerotek, Inc., 624 S.W.3d at 205 (discussing how","paragraph_id":"para_651"},{"text":"to verify a handwritten signature); cf. People v. Marion, 29 Mich. 31, 38 (1874)","paragraph_id":"para_652"},{"text":"(describing how the comparison of seals on two documents showed that one was a","paragraph_id":"para_653"},{"text":"forgery); Collins v. Carnegie (1834) 110 Eng. Rep. 1373, 1374, 1376 (KB) (accepting","paragraph_id":"para_654"},{"text":"a comparison as proof of the authenticity of a seal on a document because “[i]f not,","paragraph_id":"para_655"},{"text":"it is difficult to say what proof would be sufficient”). Not to mention the deterrence","paragraph_id":"para_656"},{"text":"value they provide, which discourages fraud in the first place. See Callanen, 89 F.4th","paragraph_id":"para_657"},{"text":"-23-","paragraph_id":"para_658"},{"text":"at 489 (pointing out that wet signatures “ha[ve] some prospect of getting the attention","paragraph_id":"para_659"},{"text":"of many applicants and dissuading false statements”); see also Stephen Mason, The","paragraph_id":"para_660"},{"text":"Signature in Law: From the Thirteenth Century to the Facsimile 9 (2022) (explaining","paragraph_id":"para_661"},{"text":"that a signature “warn[s] the person affixing [it] that they should take care before","paragraph_id":"para_662"},{"text":"committing themselves to the contents of the document”).","paragraph_id":"para_663"},{"text":"The fact that Arkansas allows the use of any mark, even an “X,” does not make","paragraph_id":"para_664"},{"text":"the wet-signature rule any less material. Recall that one step in the evolution from","paragraph_id":"para_665"},{"text":"seals to signatures was treating certain written marks, called scrolls, as substitutes.","paragraph_id":"para_666"},{"text":"See Game Place, L.L.C., 813 S.E.2d at 317. The trend started in Arkansas by the","paragraph_id":"para_667"},{"text":"early-to-mid 1800s, see Floyd v. Ricks, 14 Ark. 286, 295 (1853) (explaining that a","paragraph_id":"para_668"},{"text":"document with a “scroll” was “adjudged to be sealed”), and culminated in the passage","paragraph_id":"para_669"},{"text":"of a provision in the Arkansas Constitution that placed “sealed and unsealed","paragraph_id":"para_670"},{"text":"instruments” on equal footing, Ark. Const. of 1874 Schedule § 1 (“Until otherwise","paragraph_id":"para_671"},{"text":"provided by law no distinction shall exist between sealed and unsealed instruments,","paragraph_id":"para_672"},{"text":"concerning contracts between individuals, executed since the adoption of the","paragraph_id":"para_673"},{"text":"Constitution of 1868.”). It should be no surprise that voter-registration requirements","paragraph_id":"para_674"},{"text":"follow in the same historical tradition. See Ark. Const. amend. 51, § 6(a)(3)(F)","paragraph_id":"para_675"},{"text":"(requiring a “signature or mark”); see also Henry v. Union Sawmill Co., 287 S.W.","paragraph_id":"para_676"},{"text":"203, 204 (Ark. 1926) (accepting a “mark” as “just as effective as if signed by . . . [a]","paragraph_id":"para_677"},{"text":"written signature[]”).","paragraph_id":"para_678"},{"text":"Besides, if the court is concerned that accepting a mark sets the bar too low,","paragraph_id":"para_679"},{"text":"perhaps any problem lies there, not with requiring the use of a pen to make it. See","paragraph_id":"para_680"},{"text":"Watson v. Billings, 38 Ark. 278, 283 (1881) (describing a statute that allowed a mark","paragraph_id":"para_681"},{"text":"in place of a signature, but only if the signer was illiterate and someone witnessed it);","paragraph_id":"para_682"},{"text":"Ex parte Miller, 3 S.W. 883, 883 (Ark. 1887) (same). If a mark, wet or otherwise,","paragraph_id":"para_683"},{"text":"does not provide a “guarantee” that the person who made it is telling the truth, then","paragraph_id":"para_684"},{"text":"-24-","paragraph_id":"para_685"},{"text":"by the court’s logic the whole requirement is immaterial, despite its long historical","paragraph_id":"para_686"},{"text":"pedigree.4 Ante, at 9. The argument simply proves too much.","paragraph_id":"para_687"},{"text":"It also asks too much. Part of the reason why a wet-signature rule is relevant","paragraph_id":"para_688"},{"text":"is that it eliminates one form of fraud: digitally lifted signatures. See Thompson, 976","paragraph_id":"para_689"},{"text":"F.3d at 618 (noting its ability to “prevent[] fraud by ensuring the authenticity of","paragraph_id":"para_690"},{"text":"signatures”); see also Kendall, 650 F.3d at 526 (explaining that signature","paragraph_id":"para_691"},{"text":"requirements “help[] to make sure that false signatures are not put on the [document]","paragraph_id":"para_692"},{"text":"and that unregistered or ineligible voters do not sign it”). The answer to other forms","paragraph_id":"para_693"},{"text":"of fraud is to enact measures to deal with them, not try to defeat them all at once. See","paragraph_id":"para_694"},{"text":"John Doe No. 1 v. Reed, 561 U.S. 186, 197 (2010) (explaining that states have","paragraph_id":"para_695"},{"text":"“considerable leeway to protect the integrity and reliability” of “election processes,”","paragraph_id":"para_696"},{"text":"especially when it comes to “efforts to root out fraud” (citation omitted)).","paragraph_id":"para_697"},{"text":"Materiality, after all, is not a high bar. Clearing it requires neither perfection","paragraph_id":"para_698"},{"text":"nor a one-size-fits-all solution. See Browning, 522 F.3d at 1175 (“[Section","paragraph_id":"para_699"},{"text":"10101(a)(2)(B)] does not establish a least-restrictive-alternative test for","paragraph_id":"para_700"},{"text":"voter[-]registration applications . . . .”); cf. Crawford v. Marion Cnty. Election Bd.,","paragraph_id":"para_701"},{"text":"553 U.S. 181, 196 (2008) (“While the most effective method of preventing election","paragraph_id":"para_702"},{"text":"fraud may well be debatable, the propriety of doing so is perfectly clear.”). An","paragraph_id":"para_703"},{"text":"obviously material requirement like Arkansas’s wet-signature rule does not become","paragraph_id":"para_704"},{"text":"immaterial simply because other alternatives exist. See Brnovich v. Democratic Nat’l","paragraph_id":"para_705"},{"text":"Comm., 594 U.S. 647, 686 (2021) (recognizing that a state “may take action to","paragraph_id":"para_706"},{"text":"prevent election fraud without waiting for it to occur and be detected within its own","paragraph_id":"para_707"},{"text":"borders”). As centuries of practice show, fighting fraud is more elusive than it","paragraph_id":"para_708"},{"text":"appears. See Burson v. Freeman, 504 U.S. 191, 208 (1992) (noting that “election","paragraph_id":"para_709"},{"text":"fraud” is “difficult to detect”).","paragraph_id":"para_710"},{"text":"4The reason for allowing marks was that not everyone could write their name.","paragraph_id":"para_711"},{"text":"See Ex parte Miller, 3 S.W. at 883. It is ironic that the court would twist an","paragraph_id":"para_712"},{"text":"accommodation that lets more voters register into a reason to treat the requirement","paragraph_id":"para_713"},{"text":"as “[im]material.” 52 U.S.C. § 10101(a)(2)(B).","paragraph_id":"para_714"},{"text":"-25-","paragraph_id":"para_715"},{"text":"III.","paragraph_id":"para_716"},{"text":"In my view, there has been no showing, let alone a “clear” one, Winter, 555","paragraph_id":"para_717"},{"text":"U.S. at 22, that a wet signature is immaterial, particularly when it comes to","paragraph_id":"para_718"},{"text":"“determining whether [an] individual is qualified” to vote, 52 U.S.C.","paragraph_id":"para_719"},{"text":"§ 10101(a)(2)(B). The materiality provision protects voters from discrimination by","paragraph_id":"para_720"},{"text":"guarding against irrelevant barriers to voting. It is not an open invitation for courts","paragraph_id":"para_721"},{"text":"to supervise elections. 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