Josh Price, candidate for Arkansas Secretary of State and a UCA alumnus, spoke to UCA’s Young Democrats about the importance of voting and his mission to make voting more accessible. 

Dalton Thompson, president of Young Democrats, said that the RSO asked Price to come because he is an active campaigner. 

“He has a lot of energy, and I feel like he resonates with a younger crowd,” Thompson said. 

The Secretary of State’s role is to “ensure the integrity of the elections and make sure that they are fair, they are free, they’re accessible and that everybody can vote,” Price said. 

Price’s mother is an integral reason why he decided to run for Secretary of State. 

Price shared that his mother came to the United States from the Philippines at a young age to escape martial law and have the freedom to vote. After the chaos of the 2020 election, Price said, “[My mother] turned to me and she said, ‘Gosh I saw the same thing happen in the Philippines in the 70s, and I never thought it would happen here,’ and that really struck me.” 

Working as an Election Commissioner in Pulaski County during the 2020 election, Price saw the chaos firsthand and even received personal threats for counting the votes. 

“So, I told my mom, I said, ‘I’m going to promise you right now [that] I’m not going to let that happen in Arkansas. Not only for you but for all the people of Arkansas,’” Price said. 

While working as an Election Commissioner, Price learned that Arkansas has the highest rejection rate of mail-in ballots in the country. 

“We rejected 1,500 ballots… [for] small human errors,” Price said. They were rejected because, for example, a zip code or an apartment number was forgotten.

“That really bothered me because every vote is sacred. Every vote is somebody’s hopes and dreams for a better future, and these people took the time to vote during a pandemic,” Price said. 

To alleviate this mishap, Price is working on a bill with Arkansas Sen. Clarke Tucker to create a cure period for ballots in Arkansas, which will allow the Election Commissioners to call and ask voters about errors on their mail-in ballots. Currently, Arkansas does not have a cure period, “so, if you don’t fill out your mail-in ballot perfectly, the first time. That’s it. There’s no chance to fix it. And that’s really problematic because that is a form of voter suppression,” Price said. 

Arkansas is last in both voter registration and voter turnout. “If fewer people vote, that’s fewer facts. So, it’s easier to predict and potentially manipulate the outcome of an election… Arkansas is not a red state, it’s a non-voting state,” Price said. 

“So, at the end of the day, no matter where we came from, what color we are, we are all in this together. And we all should have the same equal right to vote, and our voices heard, and we should have the same right for communities to be heard,” Price said. “I just want everyone to go vote. I would love to see our voter registration and voter turnout be over 90%.”

Thompson said events like this is a great opportunity for candidates to meet people who will potentially elect them and for students to meet people who will represent them. 

“Our mission is to promote the Democratic Party and progressive values at UCA. And what better way to do that than to have candidates who are running to be the Democratic nominee for statewide office come and share their experience, share their story,” Thompson said.  

For more information, Young Democrats can be found on Instagram and Twitter @yd_uca.