It took exactly one hour Tuesday night for the Baxter County Quorum Court to act on its 12-item agenda. But one item, a proposed ordinance establishing vote centers, dominated the meeting. Vote centers allow registered voters in a county to cast their ballot at any polling site. They are a county-wide version of early voting held at the Baxter County Courthouse.
Listen:
The vote center ordinance was on the agenda for its first reading. While there is generally no discussion until the third reading, the court moved to suspend the rules, place the ordinance on its second reading and open the floor for limited discussion, to accommodate those in the audience who came prepared to speak. Those who did speak, while not necessarily opposed to the measure, had concerns, including the limited amount of time to implement the new system by the November general election and accommodating elderly voters. It was also noted some will oppose the new system only because they have always voted at the same location.
At the quorum court’s July meeting, Election Commission Chairman Judy Garner presented a plan to consolidate the current 22 polling sites into 10, saying it was the route to take as the county moves toward the implementation of vote centers.
What they learned from Garner Tuesday night not discussed in the July meeting was regardless of moving to vote centers, 10 of the current polling sites will have to be changed following a recent inspection by a representative of the Arkansas secretary of state’s office, primarily due to ADA compliance issues.
Baxter County and Circuit Clerk Canda Reese also stressed while the number of polling locations would be reduced under the new plan, voters would be able to cast their ballot at any vote center on election day, during 13 days of early voting at the courthouse or through an absentee ballot.
Among those speaking from the audience was Mountain Home Mayor Joe Dillard, who told the court he doesn’t oppose vote centers, he just believes the process needs to be slowed to allow time for public hearings. He also encouraged the justices, along with members of the legislature, to campaign for funding for new voting equipment from the state.
Following the July meeting, KTLO, Classic Hits and The Boot news was in contact with Kelly Boyd, chief of staff for Arkansas Secretary of State Mark Martin.
Boyd said, unfortunately, funding for the purchase of new voting equipment has been exhausted. He also noted, since Secretary Martin will leave office at the end of the year due to term limits, future funding for new voting equipment is unknown.
At Tuesday evening’s meeting, the call for public hearings was a common theme. Garner said public hearings are planned, with one set for the evening of August 16th at 6:00 at Cotter and more will be held.
After almost 40 minutes of discussion, the quorum court moved to its other agenda items without taking further action regarding the vote centers.
In other business, the court suspended the rules and adopted a request for the remainder of 2018 for a jail transport deputy to be paid from special jail fees.
An ordinance to amend the minimum standards and regulations for land development was placed on its second reading.
A resolution authorizing Judge Mickey Pendergrass to enter into a grant agreement seeking funding from the Federal Aviation Administration for almost $200,000 in funding for taxiway edge lights at the Baxter County Airport was approved.
And a resolution confirming the appointments of Elizabeth Bowman and Bonnie Cousins to fill the unexpired terms of Alan and Leahan Solis to the Tracy Area Fire Protection District Board of Commissioners was approved.
WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady® NSI