Election commission prepares for political season ahead

BERRYVILLE -- Preparing for the political season ahead, Carroll County Election Commission Chairman Levi Phillips urged his fellow commissioners and Election Coordinator Bethe Henley to attend training sessions scheduled in the weeks and months ahead.

Phillips focused on training when meeting with the commissioners Tuesday. He said there are changes in election law and Henley will be "up to her eyeballs" with all the work ahead.

Two special elections are set for Feb. 9 when Green Forest city voters select a new mayor and Eureka Springs School District patrons decide the fate of a proposed new high school.

According to the election calendar, on May 18, there is a preferential primary and non-partisan judicial general election, followed by a primary runoff on June 8, annual school elections Sept. 21, and the general election on Nov. 2.

When encouraging training participation, Commissioner David Hoover agreed with Phillips, saying they already have six classes scheduled "between now and the end of February."

Included is an election law session that election volunteer Patti Tetu is scheduled to attend with Hoover and Henley in Conway.

Another is on Friday, Feb. 19, a required training session for all election commissioners in Little Rock.

Phillips said he and Commissioner Joe Goforth will meet Hoover in Alpena at 6:30 a.m. to drive together to the class. Henley, he added, will be attending a class in Little Rock the day before and will stay over to participate in the Friday class with them.

A poll workers' trainer's course is set in Little Rock in March. Tetu agreed to attend again this year, and Hoover said his wife Sharon would likely attend again as well, provided there isn't a scheduling conflict.

Phillips noted that Henley, who is relatively new to her post, receives her salary from the commission's budget, but works in the clerk's office, where she sometimes wears two hats.

"With the upcoming elections, Bethe's plate is going to be full," he said. "Her salary comes out of the commission budget. Elections are her number one responsibility. The schools she goes to are to inform and help her -- and help us.

"Bethe's obligation is to the election commission and election process," he continued. "Working in the clerk's office, things overlap. Election filings are with the county clerk, then the paper work goes to the election commission," he said. "If there are other needs, the extra comes out of their budget."

Another portion of the election process that is divided between departments is the storage of ballots and ballot stubs.

The commission okayed the use of a back room of a rented building for the county treasurer to store ballot-stub boxes.

Phillips said storage of ballot stubs and stub boxes is the responsibility of the treasurer, and storage of ballots and ballot boxes falls to the election commission.

Entry to the back room, which will be padlocked, is through a room used by the election commission to store voting machines.

For that reason, Phillips requested a sign-in sheet be established to log who travels through their storage room to reach the locked unit. All agreed it was a reasonable request.

Phillips noted it was time to issue an order to destroy all ballots two years old or older.

In the past, he said the order was carried out by burning ballots in the old IGA incinerator, burning them in a brush pile, or by shredding.

Henley said Greg Hill, administrative assistant to the county judge, offered the use of community service workers to shred the ballots using a shredder in the clerk's office.

The commission okayed the plan, provided the community service workers are supervised.

The commission is set to meet again next Tuesday at 9 a.m., when public logistics and accuracy testing of voting equipment is scheduled at the county clerk's office in Berryville.