Arkansas election officials appeal ruling requiring early vote location in West Memphis

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.

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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.

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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.