FAYETTEVILLE -- The order in which poll workers ask for a voter's name, address and photo identification isn't set by law, the attorney general told Washington County's Election Commission this month.
The commission asked for Attorney General Dustin McDaniel's opinion after complaints in the May 22 primary. Some voters said they felt like they were being tested or quizzed when poll workers held onto their driver's license while asking for address and other information.
At A Glance
School Poll Locations
Washington County’S Election Commission on Thursday also set poll locations for school district elections Sept. 16. Fayetteville and Springdale each have one board position up for election.
Springdale Zone 3, from Emma Avenue north into Bethel Heights
Kathy McFetridge (incumbent) vs. Henry Hudson
• Elmdale Baptist Church, 1700 W. Huntsville Ave.
• Moose Lodge, 215 W. Apple Blossom Ave., Bethel Heights
Fayetteville Zone 5, from W. Sycamore St. to Fulbright Expressway
Tim Hudson (incumbent) vs. Timothy Hollis
• Central United Methodist Church, 6 W. Dickson St.
• Wiggins Methodist Church, 205 W. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
• Christ’s Church, 525 W. 15th St.
Source: Washington County Election Commission
Some critics pointed out Arkansas' contested voter ID law puts the requirement for a photo ID at the end of a long list of information, suggesting it should be requested last. McDaniel said the order doesn't matter as long as the questions are asked.
"While the mandated steps certainly are susceptible to being taken in the order they appear, the statute does not expressly -- or, in my view, implicitly -- dictate that approach," he wrote in a letter delivered to the commission during its meeting Thursday.
The opinion doesn't directly change Washington County procedures. After the primary complaints, election coordinator Jennifer Price told poll workers to give back voters' IDs before asking for more information. The opinion suggests the county was acting legally both before and after the adjustment, Price said.
"We'll still ask for the ID first just because we've got the technology to scan it," she added, referring to tablet computers used to find voters quicker than with paper name lists.
In other business, the commission turned to poll locations for September's school district election and early voting locations for the November general election. Early voting begins Oct. 20.
For the general election, Price suggested the county courthouse in Fayetteville, Arvest Ballpark and the Rodeo Community Center in Springdale and a fourth location in Prairie Grove. Commissioner Max Deitchler, a Democrat, opposed setting those locations yet. All three commissioners must agree on polling places.
One location should be closer to the University of Arkansas campus or western Fayetteville, perhaps along West Wedington Drive, Deitchler said.
"A lot of students don't live in east Fayetteville here," Deitchler said.
Commissioners Pete Loris and Renee Oelschlaeger disagreed, noting the courthouse is less than a mile from campus and pointing to heavy traffic in the west.
"We're not just the commission for Fayetteville and Springdale," Loris said. "I'm dead-set against anything on Wedington because of the traffic problems."
Price said she'd look into other locations and bring them back to the commission before August.
NW News on 07/11/2014