Plan requires counties to hire election pilots
Posted on Friday, July 11, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/News/230993/
HOT SPRINGS — A secretary of state’s office official presented a plan to county clerks Thursday that would require each county to hire an election coordinator, a proposal that might be paid for with the state picking up the tab for general elections.
The roughly $ 2 million proposal would help streamline election preparations and polling-day performances in precincts around the state, said Tim Humphries, general counsel for Secretary of State Charlie Daniels.
“Maybe it’s time for the state to step up and help the counties pay for these elections,” said Humphries, adding that several funding options were under discussion, including giving counties state grants to hire coordinators.
In about 30 to 35 of the state’s 75 counties, the county clerk or a deputy now handles the duties of an election coordinator. About 25 counties have a separate position for an election coordinator, many of whom are private contractors or part-time employees, Humphries said.
Pulaski County has a full-time coordinator with a staff.
A similar measure, Senate Bill 884, sponsored by Sen. Steve Faris, D-Malvern, failed in the Legislature last year after Gov. Mike Beebe balked at using one-time surplus funds to pay for the coordinators because the positions would need a revenue source to continue.
At the time, the governor’s spokesman said the governor’s office would help Daniels get legislation passed in the 2009 session.
So far, a stripped-down “refined” bill has met with a generally positive response, Humphries said. It would require strict training standards and clearly delegate the coordinator to the county election commission. A separate full-time position wouldn’t be required under the new version, Humphries said.
For small counties, hiring someone to manage elections all year wouldn’t make sense, he said. Humphries pitched the proposal to a meeting of county clerks. Poinsett County Clerk Fonda Condra said her county has a part-time election coordinator. That arrangement has worked well, Condra said, adding that she has also been trained to handle those duties. As for the state paying for the general election, Condra said, “That sounds great.”
Picking up the tab for a general election would free county money to hire election coordinators, Humphries said after the meeting.