Two poll workers check in two voters at an early voting site in Fayetteville on Oct. 28, 2022. (Antoinette Grajeda/Arkansas Advocate)
A lawsuit filed last week claims Crittenden County election officials have failed to prepare early voting in West Memphis despite having established polling sites.
Filed Sept. 19 in circuit court on behalf of two West Memphis residents who intend to vote early, Shirley Brown and Lavonda Taylor, the lawsuit alleges the three members of the Crittenden County Board of Election Commissioners are not seeking poll workers, preparing election materials and conducting other duties to facilitate early voting.
The petition claims election commissioners have determined there should be no early voting in West Memphis, despite two sites the plaintiffs argue should be active: One at First Baptist Church because it served as a polling site two years ago and one at the Seventh Street Church of Christ because the county clerk designated it as such.
West Memphis is Crittenden County’s largest city with approximately 23,000 residents, about 48% of the county’s total population. Without a polling site, West Memphis residents would have to travel about five miles to the county’s only guaranteed early voting site in Marion.
Chairperson Frank Barton and commissioners James Pulliaum and Anita Bell were sued in their official capacity as election commissioners. Barton and Pulliaum were unavailable by phone on Tuesday, and Bell declined to answer questions about the lawsuit.
The county attorney, who is representing the commissioners, was also unreachable by phone. Jennifer Standerfer, the plaintiffs’ attorney, said she could not comment on ongoing legislation.
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Circuit Judge Chris Thyer heard testimony in Craighead County on Monday because of scheduling conflicts in Crittenden County. A second hearing is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon in Marion. The case is being heard at an expedited pace because of its potential impact on the Nov. 5 election.
The lawsuit seeks early voting access at the two churches in West Memphis, which county election officials would organize. The petition also asks the judge to “declare that the Crittenden County Board of Election Commissioners’ determination that no early voting will be held in West Memphis is unlawful.”
Commissioner disagreements
In Arkansas, early voting is either conducted by the county clerk or the local election commission. One early voting site is required in the county seat, and election commissioners may approve additional locations by a unanimous vote.
According to plaintiffs’ petition, Crittenden County election commissioners tried twice in recent weeks to designate a public library in West Memphis as an early voting site, but the Democratic member of the commission, Pulliaum, voted against it both times.
Pulliaum instead proposed the city’s Seventh Street Church of Christ serve as an early voting site, but commissioners did not vote on the site as an alternate location. According to a document submitted as evidence in the case, church leadership offered to host early voting.
Days before a deadline prohibiting any more changes to early voting polling sites, Pulliaum requested that he change his vote in favor of the public library, according to the petition. Barton would have had to call an emergency meeting for the vote, which did not occur before the deadline.
On Sept. 5, County Clerk Paula Brown submitted a letter to the local election commission designating the church Pulliaum previously proposed as an early voting site. She also requested commissioners organize poll workers to operate the site.
“It has come to my attention that the Commission did not designate a polling site in West Memphis for early voting,” Brown wrote. “This is surprising since West Memphis is the largest municipality in the county.”
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The petition does not detail what, if anything, occurred after Sept. 5, which was the deadline to make any changes to early voting sites.
A ruling in the case is expected this week, and could come as early as Wednesday.
Early voting begins on Oct. 21 between the hours of 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. Early voting ends at 5 p.m. on the Monday prior to the election on Nov. 5.
Early voting sites should not affect Election Day polling locations.