Early voting is available on the third floor of the Washington County Courthouse inside the county clerk’s office between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. through Friday and on Monday, Dec. 8.
Photo: Todd Gill, Flyer staff
Voters can expect to find people watching for suspicious activity during Fayetteville’s civil rights special election.
Several readers have reported seeing poll watchers this week during the early voting process inside the Washington County Courthouse.
County officials confirmed that two poll watchers from the group Repeal 119 had registered with the county clerk’s office as of Friday morning.
Dec. 9 special election
Voters will decide the fate of Fayetteville’s new Civil Rights Administration ordinance which prohibits business owners and landlords from unjustly firing or evicting someone because of their sexual orientation, gender identity, socioeconomic background, marital status, or veteran status.
The ordinance was passed by the Fayetteville City Council in August, but a group called Repeal 119 turned in enough signatures to force a Dec. 9 special election to decide the fate of the new law.
According to the Arkansas Secretary of State’s office, registered poll watchers are allowed to stand close enough to the place where voters check in to vote so as to hear the voter’s name and address. They may challenge any voter they believe is not eligible to vote in the precinct or any voter they think might have already voted in the election.
Poll watchers must stay at least six feet away from any voting machine or booth, and they’re not allowed to speak to any voter or in any way attempt to influence a vote or disrupt the voting process.
If a ballot is challenged, the poll watcher must fill out a Challenged Ballot Form, and the voter must complete a written statement that they are indeed an eligible voter. The voter must then use a provisional ballot which will be separated from the other ballots for verification after the election.
Becky Lewallen, county clerk, said no ballots had been challenged by registered poll watchers as of Friday morning.
Voters are set to decide the fate of Fayetteville’s new Civil Rights Administration ordinance which prohibits business owners and landlords from unjustly firing or evicting someone for being gay or any of several other characteristics.
The ordinance was passed by the Fayetteville City Council on Aug. 20, but the group Repeal 119 turned in enough signatures to put the new law on hold and force a Dec. 9 special election.
Early voting is available at the county clerk’s office on the third floor of the Washington County Courthouse between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. through Friday and on Monday, Dec. 8.
Lewallen said 2,463 people had cast early ballots by 9:30 a.m. Friday.
Election day polls will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 9. Polling site information is available at www.voterview.org.
For more on the special election, see our guide to Understanding the Dec. 9 civil rights special election.
Poll Watcher Rights and Responsibilities
A poll watcher may be:
- A candidate in person, but only during the counting and tabulation of ballots and the processing of
absentee ballots; - An authorized representative of a candidate;
- An authorized representative of a group seeking the passage or defeat of a measure on the ballot; or
- An authorized representative of a party with a candidate on the ballot.
Official recognition of poll watchers:
- Only one (1) authorized poll watcher per candidate, group, or party at any one (1) given time may be
officially recognized as a poll watcher at each location within a polling site where voters identify
themselves to election officials; - Only one (1) authorized poll watcher per candidate, group, or party at any one (1) given time may be
officially recognized as a poll watcher at each location within the absentee ballot processing site where
absentee ballots are processed; and - Only one (1) authorized poll watcher per candidate or party at any one (1) given time may be officially
recognized as a poll watcher at the counting of the ballots.
Poll watcher credentials:
- Except for candidates in person, poll watchers must present a valid affidavit in the form of a “Poll
Watcher Authorization Form” to an election official immediately upon entering the polling or counting
location. - Candidates in person attending a counting site or absentee ballot processing site are not required to
present a “Poll Watcher Authorization Form” but must present some form of identification to an election official immediately upon entering the site for the purpose of confirming the poll watcher as a candidate on the ballot.
Poll watchers may:
- Observetheelectionofficials;
- Stand close enough to the place where voters check in to vote so as to hear the voter’s name;
- Compilelistsofpersonsvoting;
- Challenge ballots upon notification to an election official before the voter signs the precinct voter
registration list and upon completing a “Challenged Ballot Form”; - Call to the attention of the election sheriff any occurrence believed to be an irregularity or violation of election law. The poll watcher may not discuss the occurrence unless the election sheriff invites the
discussion; and - Be present at the opening, processing, and canvassing of absentee ballots for the purpose of challenging
absentee votes in the manner provided by law for personal voting challenges.
Poll watchers representing a candidate or political party may:
- Remain at the polling site after the poll closes if ballots are counted at the poll;
- Be present at the counting of votes by hand or by an electronic vote tabulating device at a central
location; - Be present at the counting of absentee ballots for the purpose of witnessing the counting of ballots by
election officials and determining whether ballots are fairly and accurately counted; and - Upon request made to an election official, inspect any or all ballots at the time the ballots are being
counted.
Poll watchers may not:
- Be within six feet (6’) of any voting machine or booth used by voters to cast their ballot;
- Speak to any voter or in any way attempt to influence a voter inside the polling site or within one
hundred feet (100’) of the primary exterior entrance used by voters to the building containing the polling
site; or - Disrupt the orderly conduct of the election.
Source: Arkansas Poll Watcher Authorization Form (PDF)
What happens if a poll watcher challenges my ballot?
- An election official must inform you that your ballot is being challenged by a poll watcher.
- The poll watcher must complete a Challenged Ballot Form.
- You must complete an “eligibility affirmation,” which is simply a written statement that you are an eligible voter.
- You must vote on a paper ballot initialed by the election official.
- You must place the Provisional Ballot in a single envelope marked “Provisional Ballot” and seal it.
- The election official must maintain a separate list of names of provisional voters.
- All Provisional Ballots must be preserved, secured and separated from the remaining ballots so that the county board of election commissioners can verify registration and determine whether the votes may be counted.
- Before the results of the election are certified, the county board of election commissioners must determine whether the Provisional Ballots are valid. If the commissioners suspect that election laws have been violated, they may refer the matter to the prosecuting attorney.
