AT A GLANCE
Arkansas Election Commissions
The county board of election commissioners shall hold office until their successors are appointed and qualified. The commissioners shall meet at the courthouse at least thirty (30) days prior to the general election and shall organize themselves into a county board of election commissioners by electing one (1) member chair. Each commissioner shall have one (1) vote. Two (2) commissioners shall constitute a quorum, and the concurring votes of any two (2) shall decide questions before them unless otherwise provided by law.
The chair of a county board of election commissioners shall notify all commissioners of all meetings. Any meeting of two (2) or more commissioners when official business is conducted shall be public and held pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act of 1967, § 25-19-101 et seq. The county board shall keep minutes of all meetings when official business is conducted, and the minutes shall be filed of record with the county clerk.
Source: Arkansas Code Section 7-4-105. County board of election commissioners — Officers — Meetings.
BENTONVILLE — The Benton County Election Commission’s first meeting of 2011 lasted just under 10 minutes Wednesday.
Chairman Bill Williams called the meeting to order and made two brief statements before he adjourned the meeting with no action taken.
Williams told commissioners and the small crowd attending it is crucial the commission follow the laws and regulations governing the commission and its conduct of elections. With that in mind, Williams said, he determined Mike Sevak, the Republican Party representative on the commission, incorrectly took the oath of office and filed his paperwork and was “not yet qualified as a member of the Election Commission.”
Williams said Bob Balfe’s term did not expire until Jan. 15 and Sevak filed his papers and took the oath before Balfe’s term expired. Williams said the commission has to guard against any sort of irregularity that could result in its actions being challenged or overturned.
Williams also said he was asking the Attorney General’s office for guidance on a number of questions. He handed out a letter he drafted to Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, and invited anyone with additional questions to submit them for consideration.
Williams’ questions concerned the possible replacement of commissioners by county political party committees after they are appointed; the rules governing commission meetings; who may call commission meetings; and the term of office and possible removal of the Election Commission chairman.
Sevak left immediately after the meeting. Later he said he went to the Benton County Clerk’s Office and again filed his paperwork as an election commissioner. He said he will ask Williams to call another meeting in the next two weeks so the commission can move forward.
Commissioner E.J. Miller, who tried to call a commission meeting for Tuesday to discuss the election of a chairman, had a two-sentence comment after the meeting.
“I’m very disappointed,” Miller said. “That’s it.”
Williams engaged in discussion after the meeting with some of the people in attendance, including County Judge Bob Clinard. Clinard questioned the sequence of events surrounding Williams declaring Sevak “not yet qualified” as a commissioner and said that should have been settled in advance of the meeting.
Clinard also said he is concerned the commission has generated a poor public image that could hamper all Benton County government.
“The perception that the commissioners don’t get along is out there,” Clinard said. “We, as residents of Benton County, we need to squash that perception.”
Chris Nogy of Lowell said he was troubled by the tone of Wednesday’s meeting and others he has attended. Nogy noted Williams sat at one end of the table while Miller and Sevak were at the other end. Nogy said the bickering among the commissioners was “breaking the faith of the community” in the commission and the election process and said the “attitude” that separated the commissioners needs to be addressed.