KUAR | By Antoinette Grajeda / Arkansas Advocate

A federal judge on Thursday temporarily blocked the implementation of a new rule barring the use of electronic signatures on Arkansas voter registration forms except at certain state agencies.

State lawmakers in May approved an emergency rule drafted by the Arkansas Board of Election Commissioners that requires a “wet signature,” meaning signing with a pen, on voter registration applications unless they’re completed at state agencies, like the DMV.

In June, voter advocacy group Get Loud Arkansas challenged the rule with a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas against Secretary of State John Thurston, the Arkansas State Board of Election Commissioners and the county clerks of Benton, Pulaski and Washington counties.

Federal judge temporarily blocks ‘wet signature’ rule for Arkansas voters