Paper Promises: Is Governor Sarah Sanders Really Fighting for Election Integrity?

Over the weekend of February 22, 2025, at CPAC, Governor Sarah Sanders participated in a fireside chat. When asked what the people of Arkansas want, an audience member shouted, “paper ballots.” With a nervous chuckle, the Governor replied, “we’re working on it, President Trump reminds me of this every time I see him.”

But one must wonder, is she really working on it?

During the 2023 legislative session, Arkansas attorney Clint Lancaster introduced fourteen meticulously crafted bills aimed at securing elections with watermarked paper ballots. Rumor even has it that President Trump, a supporter of the measures, sent a letter urging Governor Sanders to back the proposed bills. Instead, she declined, as her staunch supporters lobbied vigorously against the new legislation.

That same year, I was invited to speak at a forum advocating for paper ballots. After the event was announced to the public, members of the Arkansas Republican Party—and even some of Governor Sanders’ most fervent loyalists—tried to shut the event down. When that didn’t work, they attempted to uninvite me.

Later, Governor Sanders was invited to a different event hosted by the Arkansas Voter Integrity Initiative (AVII) which brought in top experts from Stanford and Princeton to discuss the risks posed by electronic voting machines. Again, in a move that would have made a magician jealous, the Governor and her entourage were nowhere to be seen.

This summer, I proposed adding a provision to our state’s Republican Party platform to use high-security, watermarked paper ballots counted by hand. Following proper party procedures, I submitted the proposal to the Republican Party’s Rules Committee, led by Bilenda Harris Ritter—Governor Sanders’ right-handed hack in the Republican Party of Arkansas.

The proposal was summarily rejected, with arguments that it couldn’t even be brought before the state convention for a vote. This decision flagrantly contradicted our party rules, but apparently, Bilenda Ritter and the Governor do as they please.

Not to be outdone, the state convention body took the issue up and overwhelmingly voted to include support for paper ballots in our platform.  This prompted our paper ballot supporting Governor and her inner circle to later “nullify” that decision, disregarding both party rules and the will of the people.

As attorneys for AVII, my husband and I helped several Arkansas counties place the paper ballot issue on the November ballot. State legislators were visibly upset that the people pursued the paper ballot legislation after being told “no” by the Attorney General. In response, some of Governor Sanders’ loyalists launched a taxpayer-funded, multi-day investigation into our methods and funding sources—even questioning if the same entity behind the paper ballot campaign was financing my lawsuit against the Republican Party of Arkansas to close our Republican primaries.

As my husband wryly observes, in Arkansas, if Governor Sanders wants something, she gets it. Legislators and bureaucrats are all too eager to hitch a ride on her coattails to the White House. This all begs one very important question: if Governor Sanders really wants paper ballots, why isn’t Arkansas already holding its elections on paper?

Jennifer Lancaster

Just a homeschool mom hoping to make a positive difference in the world.