Get Loud Arkansas v. Cole Jester
Split Score
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This score (0-100) indicates how likely this case is to be reviewed by the Supreme Court based on:
Case Summary
Disposition
Affirmed
The Eighth Circuit affirmed a district court’s preliminary injunction that barred Arkansas election officials from enforcing a rule requiring a handwritten “wet” signature on voter-registration applications. The court held that the rule likely violates the Civil Rights Act’s Materiality Provision, finding the requirement immaterial to determining voter qualifications and concluding the plaintiffs had standing and satisfied the Dataphase injunction factors.
Circuit Split Identified
Legal Issue
Whether courts must balance state interests against voter burdens (Anderson-Burdick style) when applying the Civil Rights Act’s Materiality Provision to voter-registration requirements, or apply the statute’s plain text without such balancing.
Circuit Positions
Apply Anderson-Burdick style interest balancing when assessing Materiality Provision challenges; a requirement can stand if state interests outweigh burdens.
No balancing; under the plain text a requirement is invalid unless it is material to determining voter qualifications, regardless of state interests.
Conflict Summary
The Fifth Circuit majority in Vote.org v. Callanen applied an interest-balancing approach, treating the Materiality Provision similarly to constitutional right-to-vote cases, whereas the Eighth Circuit rejected any balancing and held that a requirement is unlawful if it is not actually material to determining voter qualifications under state law.