The Arkansas State Board of Election Commissioners on Wednesday issued letters of reprimand to three Searcy County election officials but declined to decertify them, following several hours of testimony and debate.Board members sanctioned Searcy County Election Commission Chairwoman Laura Gross and commissioners L.C. Ratchford and Ken Weekley for two violations of state election law stemming from the November 2024 general election. The board dismissed two additional allegations.
The commission was reprimanded for accepting “something of value from an unapproved source” during the vote-counting process. According to testimony, the county rented audiovisual equipment – including cameras and monitors – from the Arkansas Voter Integrity Initiative for $100 to allow public observation of the hand-counting of ballots. The nonprofit, which advocates for hand-counted paper ballots, is not an equipment vendor, and board members determined the below-market-rate rental amounted to an improper gift.
The second upheld allegation involved the commission’s failure to post a complete list of election workers at the county clerk’s office at least eight days before the election. Gross said the initial list was posted on time, but additional workers joined after the deadline, and she did not believe an updated list was required.
A motion to decertify the commissioners for four years over the equipment rental failed by a 5-2 vote.
“I don’t think there was any intent to violate the law here,” Commissioner James Harmon Smith said. “I think they were trying to be transparent and they were trying to save the county money.”
Gross told the board that the decision to rent the equipment followed questions from local voters about the transparency of the vote-counting process.
“We have people in our county who have asked us, How can we trust that you’ll count the paper ballots accurately?'” Gross said.
The board rejected two other allegations. One related to a shortage of poll workers at a remote location on Election Day after a last-minute cancellation left the site out of compliance. The other claimed the commission improperly handled payroll, paying workers who had waived payment and failing to pay some who had not. Gross said some poll workers declined payment for hand-counting but accepted payment for regular duties, and that the board lacked guidance for partial waivers.
Attorney Clint Lancaster, representing the commissioners, said they acted in good faith and did not commit fraud or knowingly break the law.
“They haven’t committed fraud, they haven’t taken any gifts, and I would just appreciate it if you would send these nice people on their way back to Searcy County to continue doing a good job with elections,” Lancaster said during the hearing, prompting applause from attendees.
Gross and Weekley are Republican appointees; Ratchford is the Democratic appointee. After the hearing, Ratchford called the proceedings “a waste of time” but said he was glad the board chose not to decertify them.
The board also dismissed a separate complaint against poll supervisor Ellen Griffin, who had been accused of discouraging voters from using provisional ballots. Lancaster also represented Griffin.
He is scheduled to appear before the board again Thursday to represent Searcy County poll worker Loretta Milam, who faces allegations of electioneering.
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