Members of the Pulaski County Board of Election Commissioners review irregular absentee ballots on Nov. 5, 2024. (Mary Hennigan/Arkansas Advocate)
A Pulaski County clerk staff member may have violated Arkansas election law when they changed voters’ precincts, according to a memo from the county’s election coordinator.
The potential violation occurred on Oct. 21, the first day of early voting in Arkansas, and Election Coordinator Amanda Dickens received details of the incident the following week via a letter from Pulaski County Clerk Terri Hollingsworth.
“On Oct. 23, 2024, we received a call that resulted in the discovery that [precinct part] 051.02 was changed to [precinct part] 001.04 by an employee in the voter registration department during the early voting period,” Hollingsworth wrote.
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Hollingsworth said an internal investigation was “promptly initiated” and the issue was fixed on the afternoon of Oct. 23. The change affected 132 voters, but just four voters had cast their vote before the error was discovered and corrected, she said.
The day after resolving the issue, the clerk’s office determined the employee who changed the precinct “would immediately cease in election duties,” Hollingsworth wrote. Documents attached to Hollingsworth’s letter show the employee was Deborah Smith.
Documents also show that changing these specific precincts is a multi-step process.
David Scott, Susan Meadors and Sydney Rasch of the county’s election commission voted Tuesday evening to file a complaint with the State Board of Election Commissioners, which oversees all elections in the state and can investigate complaints.
“The mere fact that it happened is an issue, in my opinion,” Meadors said. “I don’t think anything should be changed unless the boundaries are being changed by redistricting. That should be the only time something should be changed, not by virtue of somebody making a change.”
Scott and Meadors also supported sending a copy of the complaint to the attorney general’s Election Integrity Unit and the Sixth Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney’s office. Rasch abstained from voting on the actions.
“This affected the voter’s ballot that they voted on,” Dickens wrote in a memo to state officials. “These voters were given a ballot with races that they should not have voted on and in turn did not get to vote on races that they should have voted on.”
The precinct change meant that voters who should have voted in Arkansas’ Senate District 12, House District 66, Congressional District 1 and two positions in North Little Rock did not.
Instead, their options were changed to House District 69 and Congressional District 2. The remaining races were absent and a circuit judge race was added.
The precinct change affected residents who live in Hansfield Circle in North Little Rock.
The four voters who cast the wrong ballot were not provided an opportunity to vote with the correct ballot because their ballots were already counted in the secured tabulator. Dickens said the ballots are nameless once they enter the machine.
According to complete but unofficial results from the secretary of state’s office, Republican congressional incumbents Rick Crawford and French Hill were reelected by sizable margins. Senate District 12 was an uncontested race and Democratic Rep. Jamie Scott will assume that seat next year. House District 66 went to Democratic incumbent Mark Perry, and Republican incumbent David Ray won by a large margin in House District 69.
David Scott said it was certain that the four voters did not have an effect on the results of the election in the precincts based on how large the margins were.
A media inquiry to the Pulaski County clerk’s office was not immediately returned Thursday. The clerk’s letter to county election officials noted its office “is committed to ensuring a fair and efficient voting experience for all citizens.”
The commissioners’ meeting is available for streaming online. The complaint was first reported by South Arkansas Reckoning.
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What’s next?
SBEC Director Chris Madison told the Advocate Thursday that he is aware Pulaski County officials voted to file a complaint, but all recently filed complaints are shielded by the Freedom of Information Act.
Madison said if the election-regulating body has received the complaint, it will be reviewed for a potential investigation and sanction recommendations.
The document would not become publicly available through the SBEC until 30 days after final action has been taken or a public hearing is announced. Madison said a complaint is typically under investigation for about four months.
Dickens confirmed the complaint was filed Wednesday afternoon with SBEC.
The SBEC has a record of approximately 40 complaints so far from the 2024 general election, which Madison said is on par with other general election years. Complaints are accepted until 45 days after Election Day.
The Election Integrity Unit at the attorney general’s office has also received about 40 complaints related to the general election, spokesperson Jeff LeMaster said Wednesday. Launched last spring, November’s election was the first general election for which the unit was up and running.
The complaint from the Pulaski County Board of Election Commissioners had not yet been received on Thursday, LeMaster said.
A spokesperson for the prosecuting attorney’s office said the complaint had also not yet been received Thursday.
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