LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KATV) — Arkansas voters are heading toward a Republican runoff in the race for Secretary of State — the statewide office responsible for overseeing elections, maintaining voter records, and managing business filings.

Army veteran Bryan Norris and State Senator Kim Hammer emerged as the top two candidates in the Republican primary and will now face each other March 31.

For Hammer, the campaign builds on 16 years of experience in the Arkansas legislature — eight years in the House and eight years in the Senate. He says that background would allow him to immediately step into the role if elected.

“I will be able to hit the ground running,” Hammer said. “Because we will come out of an election and we’re going to go right into a general session.” He says without his experience, “That is a big learning curve — you’re drinking out of a water hose.”

A central focus of Hammer’s campaign has been election security. He argues Arkansas already ranks among the strongest states in the country when it comes to protecting elections.

“We are number one in the nation as far as election integrity and security, and you don’t get that way without fighting for it,” Hammer said.

But some of Hammer’s recent legislative work has also sparked debate — particularly changes to the state’s citizen-led ballot initiative process.

During the 2025 legislative session, Hammer sponsored a package of bills that altered how ballot initiatives are placed before voters. The initiative process allows Arkansans to propose amendments to the state constitution through petition drives.

Under the new laws, petition canvassers must verify identification and read the ballot title to voters before collecting signatures.

Hammer says those changes were prompted by complaints from voters who felt they had been misled while signing petitions.

“People were being misled,” Hammer said. “People were calling the Secretary of State’s office wanting their name taken off the ballot initiative because the title was confusing and people were out there misleading others about what the initiative said.”

Hammer says the goal was to better protect Arkansas’s constitution.

“Our Constitution should be one of the most sacred documents that governs us,” he said. “Maybe the bigger question people should be asking is why some want to make it so easy to change our Constitution.”

Supporters of the legislation say the new requirements increase transparency in the petition process. But critics argue the rules could make it more difficult for grassroots organizations to place issues on the ballot — particularly proposals involving abortion rights or marijuana policy.

Hammer disagrees with that characterization.

“We didn’t make it any more difficult to change,” he said. “We just brought it to a higher standard.”

The senator has also voiced support for stronger voter verification policies similar to the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, backed by former President Donald Trump.

“We have a good system in place, but it will be better when we add these other features to it,” Hammer said. “You can’t safeguard your voter rolls too much.”

If elected Secretary of State, Hammer says his goal would be to maintain stability in the office responsible for overseeing Arkansas elections.

“My job is not to come in and blow the place up,” he said. “My job is to come in and govern and make a smooth transition, because that’s what the people of Arkansas expect.”

The Republican runoff between Hammer and Norris later this month will determine who advances in the race for Arkansas Secretary of State.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KATV) — A protest held at the Governor’s Mansion resulted in the arrest of three individuals Wednesday, March 11, prompting the launch of an investigation that will be led by Arkansas State Police.

The demonstration was directed towards Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Turning Point USA CEO Erika Kirk joining together to announce the expansion of “Club America” chapters, expected to sprout throughout high schools across the Natural State.

Arkansas Gov. signs proclamation backing Turning Point USA’s Club America in schools

Two ASP troopers involved in an altercation that escalated to a physical exchange led to one sustaining an injury from a reported assault by individuals involved in the demonstration.

According to ASP, the incident occurred at about 2:45 p.m.

LITTLE ROCK (KATV) — A major milestone has been reached in Arkansas’ highly anticipated lithium boom—its first customers.

Smackover Lithium has secured the first binding offtake agreement with a commercial client for lithium extracted in Arkansas.

“So this lithium from Arkansas will find its way into global markets, ex China,” said Jesse Edmondson, Standard Lithium’s director of government relations.

Commodity trading firm Trafigura Trading has just signed a 10-year agreement to buy 8,000 metric tonnes of battery-quality lithium carbonate per year from Smackover Lithium’s South West Arkansas Project, a joint venture between Standard Lithium and Equinor, a Norwegian company.

For context, the U.S. as a whole only produces about 5,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium a year.

“The SWA project, once in full production, will produce 22,500 tonnes per year,” Edmondson said. “So this 8,000-tonne-per-year agreement is significant, right? That’s over a third of our annual offtake.”

Last year, Standard Lithium received a $225 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to advance lithium extraction from the Smackover Formation, a briny aquifer beneath southern Arkansas that many hail as what could be America’s best domestic source of the critical mineral.

Beating companies like Chevron and Exxon to the punch, Standard Lithium pioneered direct lithium extraction and since 2020 has operated a demo plant in El Dorado. The company is building a larger facility in Lafayette County that is set to begin operation in 2028.

“We’ve got the only proven technology that works in the Smackover that’s been done through our commercial demonstration plant in El Dorado since May of 2020. And really that has been the proving ground which has unlocked a lot of the federal opportunities for us. So we’re the largest recipient of a DOE grant in the critical mineral space in this hemisphere,” Edmondson told KATV.

“So [we’re] really excited to bring lithium production to the state of Arkansas and really back to the United States. The U.S. used to be a leader in lithium production 40, 50 years ago. So it’s time to reclaim that status,” he said.

The market price of a tonne of battery-grade lithium is volatile, but has recently ranged between $10,000 to $12,000, so the value of what Standard Lithium alone is expected to produce could exceed a quarter of a billion dollars annually.

That’s not counting what Exxon, Chevron, and other companies may produce once they get up and running.