Mary Hennigan, Arkansas Advocate

Crittenden County election officials on Friday appealed to the Arkansas Supreme Court a circuit court order that required staffing an early voting location in West Memphis.

The county Board of Election Commissioners voted 2-1 Thursday to appeal Circuit Court Judge Chris Thyer’s Monday ruling that they should conduct early voting at one of three contested sites in West Memphis. He also asked attorneys on both sides to file an appeal so the high court could offer clarity on early voting statutory construction.

East Arkansas judge orders early voting should occur in West Memphis

Plaintiffs’ attorney Jennifer Standerfer said Monday her clients were satisfied with at least one early voting location and would not take the case higher, but Republican election commissioners Frank Barton and Anita Bell voted Thursday to appeal Thyer’s order; Democratic member James Pulliaum voted against it. The appeal was filed Friday on behalf of the board by attorney Joe Rogers.

State Sen. Reginald Murdock, D-Marianna, who represents Crittenden County within District 9, was present at Thursday’s meeting and described the commissioners’ intended action as voter suppression.

“I think it’s purely political, trying to gain the political advantage to get the Republican candidates elected,” Murdock said. “They want to make it harder for voters, Democratic voters, to exercise their right to vote.”

Murdock also said the location the commissioners chose to meet on Thursday was purposefully small. While Murdock estimated seven people could fit inside, at least 100 more gathered in the hallway, he said.

Mike Ford, chairman of the Crittenden County Democratic party, estimated that 150 people attended the election commissioners’ meeting. Many of them were unable to hear or see the meeting, and Ford noted that Barton could have chosen a different location.

“It doesn’t matter whether you’re a Democrat or a Republican,” Ford said. “I think every citizen deserves the right to have easy access to voting. When you’re denying early voting in the largest municipality in the county, there seems to be a problem with that. And there most certainly is a perception problem with that.”

“I believe that two people [Barton and Bell] have made a determination for all the voters in Crittenden County, Arkansas, that there’s going to be one early voting site in Marion,” he continued.

East Arkansas early voting lawsuit may go before state Supreme Court

The appeal only challenges the decision regarding early voting at Seventh Street Church of Christ in West Memphis, which Thyer found County Clerk Paula Brown appropriately designated under her authority.

Barton, who testified last week, said he did not intend to conduct any early voting in West Memphis. He also said he believed Brown did not have the authority to designate an early voting site outside of the county courthouse in the seat of Marion.

According to documents the Advocate obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, Barton had asked the State Board of Election Commissioners about the clerk’s authority on Sept. 10, five days after Brown sent a letter advising the commission to conduct early voting at the West Memphis church.

Waylan Cooper, SBEC’s legal counsel, told Barton the clerk could not direct the commission to hold early voting at any location, but she could designate a polling location outside of the courthouse in the county seat. He also told Barton that “any county clerk designated early vote site should be staffed and maintained by the clerk unless the commission agrees otherwise.”

Rogers and Barton were unreachable by phone on Friday.

Records also show that Barton asked whether Bell, the mother-in-law of a Republican candidate for District 63 in the House of Representatives, was allowed to attend a campaign fundraiser or rally for her family member. Cooper said Bell’s presence was not prohibited.

West Memphis is Crittenden County’s largest city with about 23,000 residents. Marion, the county seat, has about 14,000 residents. Per state law, one early voting site is required in the county seat, and election commissioners may approve additional locations by a unanimous vote.

Background

Standerfer filed the lawsuit Sept. 19 on behalf of Shirley Brown and Lavonda Taylor, two West Memphis voters who plan to cast their ballot in the general election early. They sued the members of the Crittenden County Board of Election Commissioners in their official capacity on allegations that they refused to conduct early voting in the county’s largest city despite having designated areas.

Of the three contested polling locations in the lawsuit, Thyer found election officials should conduct early voting at the Seventh Street Church of Christ in West Memphis. The commission was not required to hold additional meetings to agree on other early polling locations, such as a public library, Thyer ordered.

Lawsuit alleges east Arkansas county election officials refuse to prep early voting sites

The public library was voted on at previous commission meetings, but Pulliaum voted against it twice. Though Barton was told Pulliaum would vote in favor of the library if he called a subsequent meeting, Barton testified that he was not going to call a meeting.

Thyer also found that West Memphis’ First Baptist Church, which previously served as an early vote site in 2022, was not required to open again as an early polling location this year because election officials did not approve it as such.

In response to the notice of appeal, Standerfer said she knew the circuit court judge provided a “fair and reasoned decision,” and she expects the same of the state Supreme Court.

“But I’m also an Arkansans and a voter, and when they work this hard to stop you from voting, there’s a reason,” Standerfer said. “…Vote. Remind your family to vote. Take your friends with you to vote. Don’t let anyone tell you your voice and your vote are less important than someone else’s. Just vote.”

The deadline to register to vote in Arkansas is Oct. 7. Early voting begins Oct. 21.

Arkansas Advocate is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arkansas Advocate maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sonny Albarado for questions: info@arkansasadvocate.com. Follow Arkansas Advocate on Facebook and X.

Arkansas recorded more voter registration submissions during the days immediately after the top of the Democratic ticket shifted from President Joe Biden to Vice President Kamala Harris than any other comparable time period this year, state data shows.

More than 4,800 Arkansans submitted voter registration forms to the secretary of state’s office following Biden’s announcement to not seek reelection and Harris’ campaign launch on July 21, according to an analysis of data as of Aug. 1.

Energy spikes in wake of Harris’ presidential endorsement, Arkansas Democrats say

“It’s always great to see people get excited about an election and people take more interest in democracy for whatever reason,” said Kristin Foster, deputy director of the voter advocacy group Get Loud Arkansas. “…When something big like this happens, it’s good to see people get energized rather than feel apathetic or see a negative response in it.”

The period from July 21 to Aug. 1 saw a 42% increase in voter registration submissions compared to the average number of forms submitted during similar time periods this year.

The secretary of state also logged more voter registration forms in July than any other month this year. With 12,474 total, July submissions were 17% higher than the next closest month of February. More than one third of the submissions in July were completed in the days after Biden’s announcement.

“Being an election year, there are, no doubt, voter registration drives happening all over the state at any given time,” said Chris Powell, spokesperson for the secretary of state’s office. “We would not be able to speculate as to the reason for a particular uptick during the time frame [of July 21 to Aug. 1]. However, we always encourage eligible Arkansans to register and participate in the voting process.”

Powell was unable to say if voter registration submissions historically increase after a candidate announcement.

The secretary of state’s office tracks Arkansas’ voter data by county and date of registration. While residents have the option to select a political party, most choose not to specify. The data does not include demographic details of the registrants except for their date of birth, which was used in the Advocate’s analysis.

Of the 4,857 voter registration forms submitted from July 21 to Aug. 1, approximately 2,000 were young voters, or people who will not yet be 30 years old when they cast their ballot on Election Day.

About 400 more young voters, an increase of about 29%, registered during the days immediately following Biden’s announcement compared to the average number of young people who filed during similar periods this year, data showed.

“We want to make sure that that excitement and hope and motivation to be involved in the process is a positive experience for them,” Foster said of young voters. “Unfortunately, if you look at participation rates … they’re pretty likely to turn out the first time, but if they have a negative experience, or if they feel like their vote isn’t reflective, isn’t making a difference, it’s very likely to see them not continue to vote in the next election.”

Paper process

Arkansas’ data aligns with a national trend of increased voter registrations following the presidential shake up, but it’s likely the full effect of Harris’ campaign in the state won’t be evident until later, Foster said.

Vote.org, a national nonprofit with the mission to increase voter turnout, reported at least 38,500 people across the country registered to vote in the 48-hours after Harris launched her presidential campaign. Approximately 83% of the registrations were young voters, according to a Vote.org press release on July 24.

That data does not include paper submissions, which is the only permitted filing method in Arkansas with the exception of electronic forms completed at specific state agencies, such as the DMV.

While residents in other states can use their computers or cellphones to register, Arkansans must travel to fill out forms or print out and mail their registration to county clerk offices.

“I think that if we had access to online voter registration like most other states do, we probably would have seen an even bigger increase because people could have taken immediate action,” Foster said.

Arkansas is also one of eight states that does not allow online voter registration. The state also ranks last in the nation for voter participation, according to a study from the National Conference on Citizenship.

Electronic signatures on voter registration forms are prohibited unless completed at specific state agencies. A lawsuit challenging this rule, filed by Get Loud Arkansas, has a hearing set for later this month.

The State Board of Election Commissioners approved a permanent rule requiring “wet signatures” on voter forms in July. Arkansas lawmakers will consider the rule for final implementation Thursday.

Arkansas election board approves voter registration rule

When asked if an online registration platform could lead to more registered voters, Chris Madison, director of the election commission, said his answer would be speculative because people would choose different avenues to complete the form.

“You have people that are willing to do it online, that are willing to do it by paper,” Madison said. “If you want to register to vote, it’s easy. If there’s ways to do it, people will get it done.”

Arkansas currently has more than 1.7 million registered voters, though the secretary of state’s office did not discern how many registrants are active and inactive. The highest count of registered voters is recorded in Pulaski County, the state’s most populous county.

Registered voters account for about 58% of Pulaski County’s population.

The state’s least populated county, Calhoun County in southeast Arkansas, has the lowest number of registered voters at 2,896, which makes up about 62% of its residents.

An additional benefit to the recent spike in registered voters is the likelihood that more people will get involved in local elections at the polls and afterward, Foster said.

“Civic engagement isn’t just the one day you go vote,” she said. “It’s being involved after that to make sure that your elected officials are accountable to their voters.”

Arkansas Advocate is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arkansas Advocate maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sonny Albarado for questions: info@arkansasadvocate.com. Follow Arkansas Advocate on Facebook and X.

A morning explosion at General Dynamics, a defense company that produces aircraft guns, missiles and a variety of ammunition in south Arkansas, left at least two people injured and one missing.

The explosion occurred around 8:15 a.m. Wednesday near Camden, a city of about 10,000 people in Ouachita County. One person is known to have been transported in an ambulance dispatched from El Dorado, which is about 35 miles south.

Information at this time is limited. A spokesperson for General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems said the company was working with first responders and cooperating with authorities during an investigation. An update is expected Thursday, spokesperson Berkley Whaley said.

Whaley described the incident as one “involving pyrotechnics,” and later confirmed it was an explosion. She did not clarify where in Camden’s nearly 900,000 square-feet manufacturing and storage space the explosion occurred or describe any damages.

Whaley is not based at the Camden location.

A dispatcher from the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office, which is the enforcement body where the incident occurred, said General Dynamics has its own team of first responders and no assistance has been requested of the sheriff’s office.

City authorities in Camden were unable to provide any information about the incident Wednesday afternoon. The Arkansas Division of Emergency Management also did not have an update on the situation and forwarded all questions about the explosion to General Dynamics’ spokesperson.

General Dynamics has 28 locations in the United States and Canada.

Arkansas Advocate is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arkansas Advocate maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sonny Albarado for questions: info@arkansasadvocate.com. Follow Arkansas Advocate on Facebook and X.