“The Secretary of State is Arkansas’ chief election official, and
Why Vote for Dr. Pakko?
Expertise & Experience
Dr. Michael Pakko has been a prominent economist in Arkansas for years, bringing information and analysis of the Arkansas economy to business and community leaders, and to the people of Arkansas.
He has an established reputation in research and teaching, with a focus on the Arkansas economy.
For the past decade, he has also been the State Chair of the Libertarian Party of Arkansas, helping to build an organization that provides the voters of Arkansas with more choices on their ballots.
As an effective communicator, Dr. Pakko is a frequent media commentator on the economy and politics of Arkansas. He plans to organize his campaign around promoting ideas for improving our electoral process.
In his role as Chair of the Libertarian party, Dr. Pakko has experienced the challenges of leadership and administration.
The office of the Secretary of State is staffed by career professionals who administer the various departments that fall under its jurisdiction. The Secretary of State is the politically-elected CEO of this operation. In business, the role of a CEO includes recruiting and hiring the most highly qualified officers. But all too often, the main credential for department administrators is their loyalty to the party in charge.
“As Arkansas Secretary of State, I would make it my mission to recruit and hire the best administrators and employees available, regardless of party affiliation.”
On the Issues
Our Electoral System is Broken
One of the main duties of the Secretary or State is to oversee the conduct of elections in Arkansas. Our democratic system depends on institutions that earn and maintain the voters’ trust.
But in today’s polarized political environment, even the most fundamental institutions of government—including the ballot box—have been politically weaponized. When both sides of the two-party duopoly accuse each other of defrauding the system and disenfranchising the voters, the integrity of the office that oversees elections is itself called into question.
As the leader of a third party in Arkansas, Dr. Pakko knows all too well how the entrenched status quo politicians stack the deck to exclude any outsiders who might challenge their hegemony. The insiders thereby maintain their power.
As a result, Arkansas has among the highest rates of voter apathy in the nation. Voter turnout percentages are consistently among the lowest and the number of uncontested elections is among the very highest. Why bother to vote when there are so few choices?
This lack of competitiveness in our political process is deliberate. It has been built up over the span of over 150 years of one-party dominance in this state (first the Democrats and now the Republicans) with the minority party relegated to ornamental opposition.
“I plan to focus on election reform proposals as a key part of my campaign. We should be encouraging voters to participate and in order to do so, we need to provide more competitiveness to the process.“
Vote Different
Vote Libertarian
The position of Secretary of State is enshrined in the Arkansas Constitution as an independent executive office, entrusted with stewardship of the electoral process. Yet, it is typically occupied by a career politician from one of the two major political parties. Rather than being an independent administrator and arbiter of the elections, the Secretary of State’s office has been a stepping stone for party loyalists in their political careers.
The role of Secretary of State is an independent constitutional office. If that independence is to be respected and supported, then perhaps the best person for the position is someone who is NOT part of the two-party system that has monopolized our state government for over 150 years.
“The Secretary of State is Arkansas’ chief election official, and
elections are too important to leave to the Democrats and Republicans.”
News and Events
Updates from the campaign
Stay tuned for news and information about the Pakko for Arkansas Secretary of State campaign.
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Arkansas Libertarians Nominate Candidates for 2026
At their annual convention over the weekend, the members of the Libertarian Party of Arkansas nominated candidates for the 2026 general election.
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Libertarian Party Submits Petitions to Become A “New Political Party” . . . Again
The Libertarian Party of Arkansas (LPAR) submitted 13,238 signatures to the Arkansas Secretary of State’s office today