Fri. Nov 1st, 2024

Poll workers in Horseshoe Bend prepare voters to cast their ballot on Oct. 30, 2024. (Mary Hennigan/Arkansas Advocate)

Distrust of electronic voting machines and tense local political environments have residents in some northern Arkansas counties worried about the integrity of this year’s election.

Immediately upon leaving the United Methodist Church in Horseshoe Bend, one of three early voting polling sites in rural Izard County, voter Monica Rush told the Advocate she was afraid the poll workers inside would change her vote.

“…Because that machine in there is electronic, you know, I’m afraid they can change my vote, and that does worry me,” Rush, 55, said.

Arkansas voters this year have the opportunity to vote for president, four congressional seats, a state Supreme Court chief justice, state treasurer, two statewide ballot initiatives and various legislative seats and local races.

Rush, who has lived in Izard County for 40 years, expressed general dissatisfaction with her voting experience this year and described the poll workers as “nosy” when they asked her to confirm her identity after they received her identification card.

She also said she thought the Horseshoe Bend poll workers were “liberal” because of “the way they act. They’re like, ‘Oh I’m better than you.’”

Izard County residents Jonathan Lundry (left) and Monica Rush stand outside the early voting site in Horseshoe Bend on Oct. 30, 2024. (Mary Hennigan/Arkansas Advocate)

The three members of the Izard County Board of Election Commissioners are responsible for staffing early voting sites located outside of the county clerk’s office, and poll workers are not required to share their political affiliation before they start work.

Kim Dunlap, a state election monitor assigned to the Horseshoe Bend site, said she didn’t know the political affiliation of Wednesday’s workers. On Thursday, Dunlap said that there was no way the poll workers could change a vote after it was cast unless they broke into the tabulator, which is locked and sealed to protect the ballots.

Rush cast her ballot on Wednesday at the same time as two others, one of whom said it was his first time voting.

Jonathan Lundry, 56, said he agreed with an assessment from Rush that the results of the 2020 presidential election included millions of modified ballots to support President Joe Biden instead of former President Donald Trump. Lundry also said he was fearful of the electronic voting machines.

“I seen what happened last year,” he said. “I don’t trust the way it went. I want to see a mountain slide come down on top of their [Democrats] heads.”

A sticker role in Searcy County sits on a table for voters to utilize after they cast their ballot. Photographed Oct. 30, 2024. (Mary Hennigan/Arkansas Advocate)

As an election monitor, Dunlap’s role is to “observe, report and keep the peace,” she said. In Izard County, Dunlap has experienced clashing personalities that she said stems from people moving to the area from other states. The area is known as a retirement haven.

“Izard County is made up of a collection of citizens from all across the country, and they are very diverse,” Dunlap said. “And with that diversity comes a difference in thinking.”

At Ozarka College, an early voting site in Melbourne, voter Christopher Pike said he knew of general “cliques” in the county.

“Certain people get to do certain things and not get in trouble,” Pike, 66, said.

Complaints submitted to the State Board of Election Commissioners from previous elections, which the Advocate received through a Freedom of Information Act request, show residents’ long-standing concerns with the local political environment, including election officials and past poll workers. 

Of the three days that Dunlap has monitored the Horseshoe Bend site so far this election, she said there has been distress and hostility with poll watchers — people who register with the county clerk to watch the polls for a particular candidate or local issue. On one day she wasn’t present, poll watchers were asked to leave, she said.

Dunlap said she hasn’t experienced any issues with poll workers’ handling of routine election procedures.

Potential paper ballots 

In Batesville, the seat of Independence County, voters had to pass by several signs indicating support for a paper-ballot initiative before they entered the community center to cast their vote. A bright orange van with “secure our elections” on the side was also parked at the edge of the center’s parking lot.

A bright orange van with language supporting a paper ballot initiative
A van depicting language in support of a paper ballot initiative in Independence County is parked in Batesville on Oct. 30, 2024. (Mary Hennigan/Arkansas Advocate)

Independence County was one of nine counties that attempted to get a paper-ballot measure on its ballot this year, all of which were challenged in court. The Arkansas Supreme Court on Oct. 17 agreed with a lower court’s order and certified Independence County’s measure.

Bryan Norris, lead petitioner for the paper ballot initiative, said Thursday that the measure aimed to create a checks and balances system for the existing electronic tabulator count.

“This way, you have the machines checking the people, and then the people checking the machines, and there’s a clear paper trail with a chain of custody that goes back to the voter that made their mark all the way to the individual counting it,” Norris said.

Norris said a switch to paper ballots would save the county money as it would forego technology costs like software updates, maintenance and machine replacements. Instead, costs would be spent toward pen and paper, which Norris said is inexpensive. He also noted that it is likely payroll costs could be less expensive than expected if people volunteered their time.

When asked about the potential for human error in the counting process, Norris said the checks and balance system would allow for the opportunity to find errors while the current machine tabulator doesn’t provide that option.

Myra Looney Wood, an election official in Batesville, referred to the state’s current system as one that already has paper ballots.

Two women stand near an election tabulator machine
Election officials Rita Cooke (left) and Myra Looney Wood show how the tabulator machine accepts ballots to be counted in Batesville on Oct. 30, 2024. (Mary Hennigan/Arkansas Advocate)

Voters in all but one Arkansas county currently vote the same way, which includes getting a paper ballot and inserting it into a voting machine, selecting their choices on the machine and receiving their ballot back for review. The voter then inserts their ballot into a tabulator, which counts the ballot.

Looney Wood said that the election machine is “just a big ole pencil.” She also referred to paper ballots as an “antique” system.

Jerry Bradley, a 68-year-old voter who cast his ballot on Wednesday, called the paper ballot initiative “junk” and said he thought things should stay the way they are.

As far as the rest of the ballot, Bradley said he cast his presidential vote for Trump because the “economy has been trash for the last four years; my pocketbook has been empty.” He also voiced concerns about “illegal immigrants” crossing the border “and allowing them to vote.”

It is against federal law for noncitizens to vote, and there have been no widespread incidents of attempts to do so.

Deborah Shaver, who said she cast her presidential vote for Vice President Kamala Harris, also said she opposed the paper ballot issue.

“I do not understand why something that has been working for years and years — [it] does not need to be changed,” Shaver, 76, said. “It is much safer, and they still have not found anything wrong with them [the machines]. I have no desire to go back to paper.”

Regarding her presidential vote, Shaver said she chose Harris for a better economy and access to abortion.

Election distrust

The paper ballot system is in full operation in Searcy County, where election officials will be hand counting thousands of votes cast this election.

Election officials first provided hand marked and hand counted ballots in the March primary election, following a decision from the quorum court. There were some learning pains associated with the process, officials said. County election officials were ultimately sanctioned for mistakes, including inaccurate totals and the failure to report proper election night results to the secretary of state’s office, post hand-count totals at polling locations and call a public meeting to inform residents that there were issues with nonpartisan and absentee ballots cast.

Paper ballots are arranged on a shelf at an early voting location in Searcy County on Oct. 30, 2024. (Mary Hennigan/Arkansas Advocate)

Laura Gross, chair of the county election commission, said Wednesday that while the commissioners signed the sanctions so they didn’t have to proceed with a hearing, they disagreed with the circumstances.

Gross said that the commission “will never make those mistakes again.”

Using paper ballots is faster than voting with a machine, Gross said. While voters could take upwards of 15 minutes to use a machine, Gross said the paper version could be completed within three minutes, depending on how prepared a voter is.

“There’s no doubt that they’re [election machines] easier,” Gross said. “They’re easier from the perspective of putting on the election. They’re not easier for the voter.”

Under federal law, Searcy County is required to provide one voting machine for people with disabilities.

Gross said she thought the feeling of voter disenfranchisement was likely felt by residents across the state, including those who think their vote won’t matter.

“I think in rural counties, you have a lot more distrust of that,” she said. “And whether that’s a legitimate distrust or not, it’s still the way they feel.”

Searcy County voters Madison Ratchford (left) and Anna Treat pose outside of an early vote location on Oct. 30, 2024. (Mary Hennigan/Arkansas Advocate)

The county commission aims to increase voter participation, Gross said, and it’s possible the transparent process of paper ballots will help bring more people to the polls.

Residents Anna Treat and Madison Ratchford, friends who voted early together on Wednesday, were split on using paper ballots.

Treat, 32, said she used an election machine last time she voted and had an “easier” experience.

“Paper seems shady to me, I don’t know,” Treat said.

Ratchford, 22, disagreed and said that she thought the electronic process was “shady” and she had concerns about the technology involved.

A state election monitor will be in Searcy County on Election Day and during the counting process.

Early voting continues through Monday and polls will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Election Day. 

More information about candidates and ballot measures is available on the Advocate’s voter guide.

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