AR Times: “Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen didn’t take long to rule on the challenge of four new laws passed by the Arkansas legislature to make voting more difficult.
The judge agreed at the conclusion of the trial with plaintiffs, including the League of Women Voters and Arkansas United, that four new state laws placed state unconstitutional burdens on voting.
He permanently enjoined the laws.
The Republican legislature argued that the laws were voting integrity measures, but provided no proof of their need. Even one of Attorney General Leslie Rutledge’s defense witnesses, from the Republican-controlled state Board of Election Commissioners, said he knew of no significant voter fraud.
At the conclusion of testimony today, on the trial’s fourth day, the state asked for a directed verdict in its favor. The judge denied it and announced his decision from the bench. He said a memorandum order will follow after parties file findings of fact and conclusions of law. But in brief, he said:
Court finds that plaintiffs have proved by a preponderance of the evidence that Acts 249, 728, 736, and 973 involve the fundamental right of voting. As such, strict scrutiny review applies per Jegley v. Martin, 349 Ark. 600, 80 S.W.3d 332 (2002). Court further finds that defendant’s stated concerns about election integrity and insecurity are based entirely on conjecture and speculation. Conjecture and speculation, however plausible, cannot be permitted to supply the place of proof.
The state will certainly appeal.”