SPRINGDALE — Springdale residents in newly annexed areas will be able to vote in Tuesday’s election but not in city races.
The Washington County Election Commission voted 3-0 Friday not to change the precincts of residents in annexed areas. The areas were annexed during a vote Tuesday at the City Council meeting.
No case law or statutory law covered the situation, said John Logan Burrow, commission chairman.
“We will keep the election as though this (annexation) never happened,” Burrow said. “Everyone will vote in the precinct where they would have voted.”
One week before Tuesday’s general election, Springdale approved the annexation and an emergency clause sending the vote into effect immediately. Some residents in affected areas participated in early or absentee voting, said Karen Combs Pritchard, Washington County clerk.
The timing of the annexation was set when Elm Springs placed an annexation measure on its ballot, said Springdale Mayor Doug Sprouse. The Elm Springs annexation would have taken an island Springdale wanted, he said.
“I was looking at what was best for the city of Springdale, and I think that’s how the council voted,” Sprouse said.
The county would not be able to change the voting registration of the people affected in time for Tuesday’s election, Pritchard said. The county does not have a list of people who live in the newly annexed areas, she said.
Springdale is working with the county clerks in Washington and Benton counties to provide any lists they need, said Jeff Harper, city attorney.
Sharon Arthur, whose residence was annexed into Springdale, said she wanted to vote in city races but won’t be able to under Friday’s ruling.
“I didn’t want in Springdale, and they brought me in,” Arthur said. “Now I can’t vote in their election.”
The only recourse for new Springdale residents who will be unable to vote in city elections is to sue, said George Butler, county attorney.
The new residents might be able to vote in a runoff, Pritchard said, if the city has one. Springdale has one three-person alderman race that could go to a runoff if one candidate doesn’t win a majority of the votes. The runoff would come three weeks after the general election. Springdale’s aldermen are elected citywide.
Any decision on voting in a runoff would come after the general election, Butler said.