Arkansas: Proposed ballot amendment on voter ID advances | Arkansas News

A House committee on Wednesday endorsed a proposed constitutional amendment to require voters to show photo identification at the polls. In a voice vote that was not unanimous, the House State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee gave a “do pass” recommendation to House Joint Resolution 1016 by Rep. Robin Lundstrum, R-Elm Springs. The resolution goes to the House. The proposal, if referred to the November 2018 ballot and approved by voters, would amend the Arkansas Constitution to include among the qualifications to vote a requirement that a person show photo ID before casing a ballot in person and include photo ID when mailing an absentee ballot.

Arkansas: Voter ID bill advances | Arkansas News

A Senate committee voted Tuesday to advance a bill to require voters to show photo identification at the polls. In a voice vote with no audible dissent, the all-Republican Senate State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee gave a “do pass” recommendation to House Bill 1047 by Rep. Mark Lowery, R-Maumelle. The bill, which passed in the House last month in a 74-21 vote, goes next to the full Senate. Lowery told the committee the bill has been amended since it passed the House. Previously, the bill stated that a voter who did not show photo ID could cast a provisional ballot. The provisional ballot would be counted if the voter showed photo ID to the county clerk or county election board by noon on the Monday after the election.

Arkansas: Lawmaker adds affidavit option to voter ID bill | Associated Press

A Republican legislator who wants to reinstate Arkansas’ voter ID law has proposed adding a way for people who don’t show identification to cast a provisional ballot if they sign a statement. Opponents of the law say the change doesn’t erase their concerns that the requirement will disenfranchise thousands of Arkansas voters. The amendment filed late Thursday afternoon to the House-backed voter ID bill would allow someone who doesn’t show identification to sign a sworn statement under penalty of perjury at the polling site. The ballot would be counted unless the county board of election commissioners finds it invalid based on other grounds. “What we’re trying to put in is something that improves confidence in the integrity of the ballot without unduly disenfranchising voters who for whatever reason don’t have ID,” Rep. Mark Lowery said. “I think it serves as a needful deterrent for anyone who would want to commit election fraud.”

Arkansas: No non-citizens voted in voter fraud case cited by White House | The Guardian

A case cited by the White House as evidence that non-citizens cast illegal votes in American elections did not actually involve any non-citizens voting, the latest in a series of misleading statements on the subject by the administration. Donald Trump’s deputy press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, referred in a television interview on Sunday to an incident in her native Arkansas, which she said supported Trump’s claims about voter fraud. Trump has repeatedly alleged, without evidence, that he lost the national popular vote to Hillary Clinton, his Democratic opponent, because millions of non-citizens voted illegally. His claim has been widely dismissed as a fabrication. … After the president and a senior aide revived the claims last week, Huckabee Sanders was asked on MSNBC: “Do you think that there are 3 to 5 million undocumented immigrants who cast votes, and that that would have swung the president’s election, in terms of the popular vote, his way?” Huckabee Sanders replied: “Look, I don’t know how many different voters voted illegally, but I do know that it exists. In my home state of Arkansas, there was a judge that was caught with, I think, roughly 180 ballots sitting on his kitchen table. So to pretend like voter fraud isn’t something real and doesn’t exist is laughable.”

Arkansas: County Clerks Push to Replace Aging Voting Machines | Arkansas Matters

Counties across the state say they need a major upgrade to voting equipment to prevent system failures in the next election. They fear aging and potentially failing machines could get in the way of a successful electoral process. Officials say providing new machines for nearly the entire state would cost around $34 million. Some want to split the cost in the Governor’s budget over two years which could have the entire state up and running by the next major election. Current problems include the voting machine operating software. “The biggest one I think is they say that they run off Windows XP and that is no longer being supported by Microsoft,” said State Rep. Trevor Drown (R/Dover). “So there’s nothing that’s upgradeable in regards to the equipment.”

Arkansas: Filing would put voter-ID amendment before public | Arkansas Online

Republicans, concerned that enacting a law will not be enough to require voters to provide photo identifications before casting ballots, are working to refer a constitutional amendment to the voters that would impose the requirements. Sen. Bryan King, R-Green Forest, filed Senate Joint Resolution 6 late Wednesday. It followed the House passage Tuesday of a voter-identification bill sponsored by Rep. Mark Lowery, R-Maumelle. “I don’t think there’s any question that voter fraud’s been going on — despite what the Democrats have denied,” King said. “They’ve stopped, actually, investigations into voter fraud. The system that the Democrats set up in Arkansas was for years, was a rigged system.” H.L. Moody, a spokesman for the Democratic Party of Arkansas, said election commissions are now generally controlled by Republicans.

Arkansas: House OKs Bid to Revive State’s Voter ID Law | Associated Press

The Arkansas House approved a plan Tuesday to reinstate a voter ID law that was struck down more than two years ago, with Republicans counting on a new state Supreme Court makeup to uphold the measure this time. The proposal approved by a 74-21 vote is nearly identical to a law the Republican Legislature enacted in 2013 requiring voters to show photo identification before casting a ballot. The state Supreme Court unanimously struck down the measure in 2014, with the majority of the court ruling it unconstitutionally added a new qualification for voting. The latest proposal is aimed at addressing a concern three of the court’s seven justices raised that the prohibition didn’t pass with enough votes in the Legislature when it was enacted in 2013. The proposal will need two-thirds support in both chambers, a threshold it easily cleared in the House. It now heads to the state Senate.

Arkansas: House panel advances plan to reinstate Arkansas voter ID law | Arkansas Online

An Arkansas House panel has backed a proposal to reinstate the state’s voter ID law that was struck down more than two years ago, moving forward with the restriction months after Republicans expanded their majorities in the Legislature. The House State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee, after hearing public comment from Arkansans, endorsed the proposal Wednesday requiring most voters to show photo identification before casting a ballot. The measure now heads to the House. State Rep. Mark Lowery, R-Maumelle, told the panel Wednesday that the measure, House Bill 1047, is not focused on specific instances of voting fraud.

Arkansas: Legislator introduces Voter ID bill for 91st General Assembly | KTHV

Before the 91st General Assembly begins on Monday, January 9, Arkansas legislators in both the House and Senate continue to introduce bills. This time, State Representative Mark Lowery has introduced a bill requiring a voter provide verification of their identity when they go to vote. … In 2014, Pulaski County Circuit Judge Tim Fox ruled that Act 595, introduced in the 89th General Assembly, was unconstitutional. The Arkansas Supreme Court agreed with Judge Fox’s decision, striking down the act.

Arkansas: Garland County absentee ballots go out late | Hot Springs Sentinel Record

After a week of vetting absentee ballots for correct precinct assignment, the Garland County clerk’s office began mailing them out Monday to around 400 voters who applied to vote absentee in the Nov. 8 general election, County Clerk Sarah Smith said. Smith said the Garland County Election Commission initially sent her office 19 ballot styles. After a week of cross-checking precincts with the list of races assigned to each precinct, it was determined 23 were needed. One of the additional versions came after the discovery of a precinct in Justice of the Peace District 5 that didn’t include the District 6 city director’s race. The election commission had initially assigned that location a generic ballot that doesn’t include contested local races. Smith said her office didn’t double-check the precinct assignments for absentee ballots mailed for the March 1 preferential primaries and nonpartisan judicial elections, causing about 70 voters to receive incorrect ballots. On Monday, the labels with bar codes identifying voters’ names, addresses, precincts and ballot styles were ready to be placed on the envelopes the clerk’s office uses to mail absentee ballots.

Arkansas: Lawyer blasts voter-roll response | Arkansas Online

An attorney hired by the state Democratic Party told Secretary of State Mark Martin’s office that the latter’s explanations for withholding records about the statewide voter database were “farcical,” “disingenuous” and ultimately “unlawful” in a letter delivered Friday. The letter was written by David Mitchell of the Rose Law Firm. He was hired by the party to represent Chris Burks, general counsel for the party, who had submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the secretary of state’s office on Aug. 3. Although Martin’s office responded with some documents, Burks said Friday’s letter was intended to point out there were still matters outstanding in the original Freedom of Information Act request. The Democrats sought information about flawed data that Martin’s office had entered into the statewide voter database used by county clerks. County clerks use the data to determine which voters are felons whose names should be struck from voter rolls, but the data included felons who had regained the right to vote and others who had never been convicted of a felony.

Arkansas: Before flaws noted, Arkansas flagged 7,730 on voter list | Arkansas Online

Flawed data flagged 7,730 people in Arkansas to be removed from voter rolls, a spokesman for the secretary of state said Friday. That data have caused headaches for county clerks, who have been left to work out what’s accurate. Some on the list are felons who have not yet taken the steps to regain their right to vote and must be kept off voter rolls, but others on the list have not committed a felony or have already had their rights restored. Interviews with a handful of county clerks show that they are removing only a fraction of those people. In Pulaski County — where nearly 2,000 of those named on the state’s list reside — about 20 percent will be removed after staff members investigated each person, said Jason Kennedy, assistant chief deputy of the clerk’s office.

Arkansas: Officials Attempt To Verify Voting Status Of Thousands Marked As Felons | KUAR

County clerks around Arkansas are working to determine exactly how many registered voters may have been incorrectly flagged as felons after the state Secretary of State’s office updated a computerized record-keeping system. Pulaski County Clerk Larry Crane says about half of nearly 2,000 registered voters in the county who were recently flagged under the new system either should be allowed to vote or have an indeterminate status. The number will vary by county, he says, and each county may have to take a different approach to correct the problem. “Some [county clerks] will be more effective than others. Some will have better records than others on what has been done with the people in their county before. Some will choose simply to send a letter to everyone on their list and say you’ve been identified as a felon and if you’re not, you’ve got to find the information to prove that you’re not,” he says.

Arkansas: Old Felon Data Could Keep Voters From Casting Ballots | NWA

An error sent out to county clerks across Arkansas could keep some who are eligible to vote from casting a ballot this November because they’re believed to be felons. The Secretary of State’s office got a list of felons from the Arkansas Crime Information Center. In the past, the office has received that information from the Department of Corrections, but according to law, the SOS must go through ACIC. That’s what happened this year, but on this first go-around, there’s a major issue. Larry Crane, the Pulaski County Clerk, says with months to go before the general election it’s busy. “My office and all of the clerks are going to work our way through this the best we can,” said Crane.

Arkansas: Error flags voters on registration list; thousands in jeopardy of having their registration canceled | Arkansas Online

Flawed data sent out by the Arkansas secretary of state’s office in conjunction with the Arkansas Crime Information Center incorrectly flagged thousands of people to be removed from voter registration lists, meaning several Arkansas voters will have to prove their status before this year’s presidential election if the issue isn’t fixed. In many cases, that will result in undue burden to voters, some county clerks have said, even hinting at possible future lawsuits over the mess-up. The problem arose when the secretary of state’s elections division sought to update voter lists with new felon data to ensure that felons still in prison or on parole or probation aren’t allowed to vote, per state law. In the process of getting the data from the Arkansas Crime Information Center, known as ACIC, about 4,000 people who have never been convicted of a felony were included on the list and flagged by error. Some of them may have been notified by their county clerks’ offices that their voter registration has been canceled, even though it shouldn’t have been.

Arkansas: In 5 counties, ballot systems set for update | Arkansas Online

Secretary of State Mark Martin will provide an estimated $2.1 million worth of new voting equipment to five counties, his office announced Tuesday. The five counties are Chicot, Cleveland, Jackson, Randolph and Washington. The counties are scheduled to receive the voting equipment and have it operational for the upcoming school elections in September, the Republican secretary of state said. They will join five other counties for which the state this year purchased new election equipment, at a cost of nearly $3 million. The voting equipment will include new voting machines, tabulating machines and software. The counties will use the Express Vote Universal Voting System, which is a touch-screen machine, said Chris Powell, a spokesman for Martin.

Arkansas: State awards Washington County $1.2 million in new voting equipment | Arkansas Online

The state has awarded Washington County about $1.2 million of election equipment, said Jennifer Price, election commission coordinator. “We are getting the new voting equipment,” Price said. “We’re excited.” The Quorum Court accepted the equipment during its meeting Thursday. The county put aside $420,000 for the equipment. Election commissioners have said they were worried the state wouldn’t provide equipment in time for the general election Nov. 8, which is expected to have a large voter turnout. The county’s equipment is from 2006 and was starting to break down, Price said.

Arkansas: Secretary of state says new voting equipment in the works | Pine Bluff Commercial

Arkansas’ voting equipment is out of date and Secretary of State Mark Martin said Tuesday his office is trying to improve it. Speaking at the Pine Bluff Rotary Club meeting at the Pine Bluff Country Club, Martin, who is in his second term, said that currently there are five counties in the state that have updated voting machines, paid for by reductions in his office’s budget. “We’ve cut $2 to $3 million from my budget and been able to buy machines without any appropriations from the Legislature,” he said.

Arkansas: 7 election commissioners ask state for new poll equipment | Arkansas Online

Election commissioners from seven counties in Northwest Arkansas decided Wednesday to ask legislators to pay for new software and equipment before the November elections. Commissioners said they are worried upgrades won’t happen before the general election Nov. 8. Equipment and software are old and could break down, commissioners said during the Northwest Arkansas County Boards of Election Commissioners meeting. “We are in a dire situation,” said Bill Taylor, Crawford County commissioner. “The old stuff is gradually failing,” said John Lyon, Crawford County commission chairman.

Arkansas: State Elections Division chief quits | Arkansas Online

The director of the Arkansas secretary of state’s Elections Division, Rob Hammons of Conway, has resigned, effective April 22. Hammons said Wednesday that he turned in his resignation last week to the secretary of state’s office, and “it was my decision.” His resignation letter to Republican Secretary of State Mark Martin doesn’t cite a reason. “I was kind of burned out from elections,” Hammons said. “I have been doing it for 18 years and I’m tired of it, to be honest.” He has served as the director of the Elections Division since Feb. 1, 2013, after briefly serving as interim director, and worked in the secretary of state’s office since July of 2003, according to his personnel file. He previously worked for the state Board of Election Commissioners from August 1999 to July of 2003.

Arkansas: Jefferson County election chief urges inquiry at courthouse; access to voting machines by one campaign reported | Arkansas Online

At least one campaign in Tuesday’s runoff elections in Jefferson County had access to voting machines and voting records at the Jefferson County Courthouse after hours Monday evening, according to the election commission chairman. Michael Adam, chairman of the Jefferson County Election Commission, called for Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney Kyle Hunter to review courthouse surveillance footage after it was reported that workers for Jefferson County judge candidate Henry “Hank” Wilkins IV’s campaign “went places in the courthouse they weren’t supposed to be.” Adam said it wasn’t clear whether the workers would have been able to manipulate voting records, but he said they could have accessed voter sign-in sheets and voting machines.

Arkansas: Updated election machines unveiled | Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette

Sebastian County is poised to test new voting equipment for the state by letting county voters use it in the March 1 primaries. The Sebastian County Election Commission and county officials unveiled Tuesday the 250 voting machines, 54 tabulators and 94 digital poll books that will be set up in the county’s 41 polling places March 1 and in three early voting sites. Early voting begins Tuesday and runs through Feb. 29. For the past 10 years, voters in Sebastian County have had the option of voting on now-obsolete electronic machines or by paper ballot, Election Commission Chairman David Damron said. Both will be replaced by equipment the Arkansas secretary of state’s office bought from Omaha, Neb.-based Electronic Systems & Software for testing in Sebastian, Boone, Columbia and Garland counties.

Arkansas: Benton County vote centers given state’s OK | Arkansas Online

Benton County’s move to vote centers in place of traditional polling places has been approved by the secretary of state’s office — the final OK needed to carry out the plan. The Benton County Election Commission endorsed the plan and obtained Quorum Court approval before sending the plan to Little Rock. With Monday’s approval from the state, election officials will proceed with vote centers where any registered voter can cast a ballot on election day rather than being limited to a single polling place. Election officials were pleased with the quick decision on the plan. The county plan was sent to the secretary of state’s office in Little Rock twice Monday, with email problems prompting the need for it to be resent. The plan was approved less than two hours after it was resent.

Arkansas: New voting machines arrive in Boone County | Harrison Daily

The first shipment of new election equipment for Boone County was delivered in the pouring rain Tuesday afternoon and secured in the new election central location, the former Vision Video building. The Secretary of State’s Office earlier this year chose Election Systems and Software of Omaha, Nebraska, as the vendor to replace the state’s voting machines. Boone County was chosen as one of four counties in a pilot program to begin using the new machines by the March 2016 primary election. ES&S’s bid of $29,928,868 was the highest of three companies interested, but Boone County Clerk Crystal Graddy said in June that it was the only company who had the necessary machines in stock in a warehouse and could deliver them quickly, in time for the 2016 primary election.

Arkansas: New gear on hold for all but 4 counties | Arkansas Online

Only four Arkansas counties will have the state’s new voting equipment in time for the primary elections, Rob Hammons, elections division director for the secretary of state’s office, told the Arkansas County Election Commissions Association on Tuesday. Hammons spoke as a part of the association’s meeting at the Holiday Inn in Little Rock near Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport/Adams Field. About 200 election officials from across the state attended. Although the Arkansas Legislature passed Act 151 of 2015, allowing the secretary of state’s office to replace election commission equipment for up to $30 million, no money was set aside to pay for the equipment. “So we had the funding as far as the appropriation, but we never got the check,” Hammons said, adding that unfunded acts are common and occur when lawmakers must prioritize the state budget. “And that’s fine,” he said. “That happens all the time.”

Arkansas: New voting system to roll out in the fall | Blytheville Courier News

New voting system equipment for the state of Arkansas has been selected, but Mississippi County will likely not implement the new paper ballot system until November 2016. Secretary of State Mark Martin has chosen Election Systems & Software (ES&S) as the vendor for any state-purchased integrated voting system equipment going forward. This announcement comes after months of evaluation and analysis and input from state and county officials.

Arkansas: Northwest Arkansas counties urge quick turn to new voting equipment | Arkansas Online

Arkansas must be more aggressive in replacing antiquated ballot counters and touch-screen voting machines or risk delayed results and equipment problems in the 2016 elections, election officials said Wednesday. Election commissioners and coordinators from Benton, Carroll, Crawford, Madison and Washington counties met with several state legislators for a roundtable covering voting equipment, election schedules and other issues. Those from Benton, Crawford and Washington counties in particular said the plan to replace all 75 counties’ decade-old equipment doesn’t have the needed urgency. “We need answers,” said Bill Taylor, a commissioner for Crawford County. “If we’re going to do it, we need to just do it. We need to proceed.”

Arkansas: Voting machine plan scaled back to 4 counties | Associated Press

Arkansas Secretary of State Mark Martin is scaling back plans to replace the state’s voting machines for next year’s primary and says the new equipment will instead be deployed in just four counties. Martin on Wednesday said Boone, Columbia, Garland and Sebastian counties will be part of a pilot program to replace voting equipment ahead of the March 1 primary. Martin last week selected Nebraska-based Election Systems & Software to replace the state’s voting equipment.

Arkansas: Martin Picks Provider New State Voting Gear | Arkansas Online

Secretary of State Mark Martin has decided to purchase a statewide, integrated voting system, including new voting equipment, through a Nebraska-based company although its proposal costs millions more than systems offered by two other companies. The company, Elections Systems & Software (ES&S), submitted a proposal costing $29,928,868; California-based Unisyn Voting Solutions submitted $24,407,805; and Austin, Texas-based Hart InterCivic proposed $18,789,997, Martin spokesman Chris Powell said Monday. When it requested proposals from companies, Martin’s office said they couldn’t exceed $30 million. “The primary factor in the selection of ES&S was capabilities,” Powell said.

Arkansas: Deadline too tight, election officials stress | Arkansas Online

The Pulaski County Election Commission is questioning whether Secretary of State Mark Martin should delay his plans to replace the state’s voting machines by the March 1 primary election and instead wait until 2017 to overhaul the voting machines in the state’s 75 counties. Martin’s office has received three bids from voting machine equipment companies in response to his request for proposals … The secretary of state’s office is considering replacing voting equipment statewide “with a sole-source integrated voting system allowing for automation and full integration between polling place equipment and voter registration system(s),” according to a copy of the request-for-proposal released by Martin’s office. These pieces of equipment would allow voters to mark their ballots on electronic screens or to cast paper ballots. If the project succeeds, the vendor would be responsible for all replacement, installation, training, testing and maintenance no later than March 1, the request-for-proposal states. The maximum expenditure for the project would be $30 million, the secretary of state said.