
Bryan Norris, Republican candidate for Arkansas Secretary of State, has filed a federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas challenging the constitutionality of Arkansas Code § 7-1-103(a)(24). The law, authored by Senator Kim Hammer, Norris’s opponent in the Secretary of State race, bans all non-voters from remaining within 100 feet of a polling place during voting hours. The lawsuit seeks declaratory and injunctive relief to prevent the law from being enforced against exit polling, a practice long recognized as protected political speech under the First Amendment.
The complaint and motion papers, filed last evening, are available here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/hx0dfwll6mutd699x4cux/AKHgdiGT62PAjVN3RKkw7UY?rlkey=4pvbyidxu6h768widmb8amwad&st=877ujtxa&dl=0
The lawsuit arises directly from the recent prosecution of retired Army Colonel Conrad Reynolds, who was criminally charged by the Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin’s office after conducting exit polling during the November 2024 election. That prosecution, Norris says, exposed the statute’s dangerous breadth and its potential to be selectively enforced against political opponents.
“This law was never about election security,” Norris said. “It was written so broadly that it can be used as a weapon—applied aggressively against some citizens while ignored for others. When the Attorney General charged Colonel Conrad Reynolds, a member of the Arkansas Military Veterans’ Hall of Fame, for simply asking voters questions after they voted, it became clear that this statute violates the First Amendment and must be challenged.”
Serving as lead counsel for Norris in the case is Chris Corbitt of Conway, an Arkansas attorney with extensive experience in constitutional litigation. The complaint names Attorney General Tim Griffin and Secretary of State Cole Jester, head of the State Board of Election Commissioners, which initiated the case against Reynolds, in their official capacities and challenges the law as applied to exit polling.
The lawsuit is supported by sworn declarations from nationally recognized polling and media experts, who explain why the 100-foot ban makes effective exit polling impossible and why exit polling has never posed a threat to election integrity.
The lawsuit is supported by sworn declarations from nationally recognized polling and media experts, who explain why the 100-foot ban makes effective exit polling impossible and why exit polling has never posed a threat to election integrity.
“Based on my extensive experience in this field, including my review of data collected to test the reliability of exit polling when conducted 100 feet from the polling place, it is my opinion that effective exit polling at this distance is not viable. Indeed, effective exit polling is extremely difficult at more than 25 feet from the polling place, and ideally a pollster will be able to be much closer, for example, within ten feet.”
Lenski further states that exit polling has been conducted safely and professionally for decades without interfering with voting or intimidating voters, and that there is no historical evidence supporting claims that exit polling threatens election integrity.
Dr. Kathleen A. Frankovic, former Director of Surveys at CBS News, former President of the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR), and one of the most respected figures in modern election polling, reinforces that conclusion:
“Exit polling plays an important role in our political system, which is built on freedom of speech and freedom of the press. It has great value. It provides a unique opportunity to learn what voters want and why they voted the way they did. . . . Exit polling is truly the best source of information about what the voters want. . . . The ability to conduct effective polling is more important in Arkansas than in many other states, because Arkansas has stricter requirements for absentee voting than many states. The result is that the vast majority of votes in Arkansas are cast at the polling place, so that the ability to collect exit-poll data at the polling place is vital to assessing the opinions of Arkansas voters.”
Dr. Frankovic also notes that “exit polling has been conducted over the past half century, both in the United States and abroad, with no indication that it interferes in any way with the voting process.”
Until 2021, Arkansas law explicitly allowed exit polling, consistent with opinions issued by two Arkansas Attorneys General, in 2000 and 2004. The 2021 amendment, written by Senator Hammer to end the practice of organizations handing out water bottles to voters standing in line, imposed a blanket ban on all non-voters within 100 feet of polling places without carving out exceptions for the press, researchers, or exit pollsters—creating what Norris calls a “speech-free zone” unsupported by any legitimate governmental interest.
“Arkansas can protect voters from harassment without criminalizing journalism, research, and citizen oversight,” Norris said. “This statute is not narrowly tailored. It doesn’t even mention exit polling, the press, or political speech. That’s why courts across the country have struck down similar laws.”
Norris emphasized that the case is not about partisan advantage, but about equal application of the law and the constitutional rights of Arkansans.
“If a law can be enforced when it’s politically convenient and ignored when it’s not, that law becomes a tool of power rather than justice,” Norris said. “As Secretary of State, my responsibility would be to serve the people—not rule over them. This lawsuit is about restoring that principle.”
The lawsuit seeks a declaration that Arkansas Code § 7-1-103(a)(24) is unconstitutional as applied to exit polling and an injunction preventing its enforcement, so that exit polling may lawfully occur during the March 3, 2026, Republican primary.
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Contact Bryan Norris
Note of correction: This press release supersedes and corrects a release issued yesterday. Certain statements in that earlier release paraphrased expert declarations in a manner that could be read as direct quotations. This release uses accurate, document-based descriptions, and direct quotations where indicated.
