Arkansas Administrative Code › Agency 108 - BOARD OF ELECTION COMMISSIONERS › Rule 108.00.17-002 - Rules on Pole Watchers, Vote Challenges, and Provisional Voting

Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 6, June, 2024
Scope of Rules
These rules set forth the procedures for poll watchers,
			 challenging votes, and for issuing, processing, and counting provisional
			 ballots. These rules are in addition to and not a substitute for the laws of
			 the State of Arkansas.
§ 900
Definitions
(a)
Absentee Ballot Processing Site
- a place designated
		  by the county board of election commissioners where election clerks for
		  absentee ballots meet on election day or during the one week period before
		  election day for the purpose of processing absentee
		  ballots.1
(b)
Ballot Style
- a
		  ballot's combination of contests and issues to be voted upon that is unique to
		  each precinct or part of a precinct.
(c)
Challenged Ballot
		  Form
- the applicable portions of a "provisional voter envelope"
		  (see Attachment "A") that are completed when a poll watcher challenges a voter,
		  identifying the voter whose vote was challenged, the poll watcher, the reason
		  for the challenge, the applicable provisional voter number from the list of
		  provisional voters (see Attachment "B"), poll, precinct, ballot style, and the
		  date and time of the challenge under the signature of both the poll watcher and
		  the challenged voter.
(d)
Counting Site
- a location selected by the county
		  board of election commissioners with respect to all elections for the
		  processing and/or counting of votes.2
(e)
County Board of Election
		  Commissioners
- the three-member board in each of the 75 counties
		  in this State responsible for conducting all elections within their respective
		  county, including two members elected by the county committee of the majority
		  party and one member elected by the county committee of the minority party or
		  persons appointed by the state chair of either the majority or minority parties
		  to fill a vacancy in that party's
		  position.3
(f)
Election Clerk
-
		  for the purpose of these rules, a person possessing the same qualifications as
		  a poll worker who is designated by the county board of election commissioners
		  to process, count, and canvass absentee ballots4
		  under the supervision of the county board.
(g)
Election
		  Official
- a person who is a member of the county board of
		  election commissioners, a person who performs election coordinator duties, a
		  person who is a poll worker designated by a county board of election
		  commissioners to be an election clerk, election judge, or election sheriff, or
		  a deputy county clerk or a person assigned by a county clerk to conduct early
		  voting.5
(h)
Electronic Poll
		  Book
- hardware or software or a combination of hardware and
		  software that allows election officials to view voter registration records and
		  voting information during an election at an early voting location or at a
		  polling site. The functions of an electronic poll book may include voter
		  lookup, voter verification, voter identification, precinct assignment, ballot
		  assignment, a recording of when a voter presents himself or herself to an
		  election official to request a ballot, and direction to the correct polling
		  site. An electronic poll book may be used as the precinct voter registration
		  list.6
(i)
Eligibility
		  Affirmation
- a written affirmation executed under penalty of
		  perjury by a provisional voter in the presence of the poll worker at the poll
		  stating that he or she is a registered voter in the precinct in which he or she
		  desires to vote and is eligible to vote in that election (see Attachment
		  "A").7
(j)
First-time Voter Registered
		  by Mail
- any registered voter, except those exempted by Arkansas
		  Code Annotated §
								7-5-201(e)(2),
		  who has not previously voted in a federal election in the state and whose
		  registration application arrived at the county clerk's office or Secretary of
		  State's office by mail.8 "First-time voters
		  registered by mail" who do not provide identification when registering are
		  flagged by the county clerk for the additional identification requirement.
		  "First-time voters registered by mail" who provided a valid driver's license
		  number or the last four (4) digits of their social security number on their
		  voter registration application form are considered as having provided
		  identification if a state or local election official can match the driver's
		  license or social security number with an existing state identification record
		  bearing the same number, name and date of birth as provided in the
		  registration. Registration applications arriving in bulk by means other than
		  the mail at the registrar's office or delivered by leaders of voter
		  registration drives are considered to have been delivered in person, not by
		  mail, and are, therefore, not considered "first-time voters registered by mail"
		  and not flagged by the county clerk for the additional identification
		  requirement.
(k)
Polling Site
- a location selected by the county board
		  of election commissioners where votes are cast.9
(l)
Poll
		  Watcher
- any authorized representative of a candidate, any
		  authorized representative of a group seeking passage or defeat of a measure on
		  the ballot, and any authorized representative of a political party with a
		  candidate on the ballot who is present at a polling site or an absentee ballot
		  processing site to observe and ascertain the identity of persons presenting
		  themselves to vote at the polls or to observe and ascertain the identity of
		  absentee voters for the purpose of challenging any voter in person or for the
		  purpose of challenging any absentee vote. A candidate may be present at an
		  absentee ballot processing site to observe and ascertain the identity of
		  absentee voters for the purpose of challenging any absentee vote. A candidate
		  or an authorized representative of a candidate or political party may also be
		  present at all counting sites for the purpose of witnessing the counting of
		  ballots by election officials. A candidate may be present in person during
		  early voting only for the purpose of observing whether or not votes are fairly
		  and accurately cast.10
(m)
Poll Watcher Authorization
		  Form
- an affidavit, in the form specified by law, designating and
		  authorizing a poll watcher. The "poll watcher authorization form" must be filed
		  with the county clerk and a file-marked copy presented to an election official
		  immediately upon entering the polling site, absentee ballot processing site, or
		  counting site. Candidates in person at early voting, attending a counting site
		  or an absentee ballot processing site must present identification, but are not
		  required to present a Poll Watcher Authorization Form (see Attachment
		  "C").11
(n)
Poll Worker
- an
		  election official designated by the county board of election commissioners to
		  be an election clerk, election judge or election sheriff at a polling
		  site.
(o)
Precinct
- the geographical boundary lines dividing a
		  county, municipality, township, or school district for voting
		  purposes.12
(p)
Precinct Voter Registration
		  List
- a computerized list provided by the county clerk and used
		  by poll workers in each polling place for every election conducted in the state
		  indicating the name and date of the election; identifying the precinct's number
		  and county in which located; and containing the name, address, and date of
		  birth of each registered voter, including those who have been designated
		  inactive, within the precinct with a space for each voter's
		  signature.13 In any precinct with more than one (1)
		  ballot style, the precinct voter registration list must also identify the
		  district, sub-district, county, municipality, ward, and school zone in which
		  each voter is qualified to vote. An electronic poll book may be used as the
		  precinct voter registration list.14
(q)
Provisional
		  Ballot
- a ballot cast and/or considered by special procedures to
		  record a vote when there is some question concerning a voter's eligibility or
		  compliance with certain constitutional and statutory requirements. Provisional
		  ballots are counted upon verification of a voter's eligibility or compliance
		  with those legal requirements.15
(r)
Provisional Voter
		  Envelope
- an envelope used by poll watchers for voter challenges
		  and by poll workers for voter qualification issues containing information
		  relating to provisional voters, including a provisional voter's eligibility
		  affirmation, the reason for voting provisional, the ballot style voted, a space
		  for the county clerk's certification of the provisional voter's registration
		  status, and a space for the disposition of the provisional ballot upon review
		  by the county board of election commissioners. A "provisional voter envelope"
		  shall have printed on it all the information sought by Attachment
		  "A".
(s) Unverified Provisional
		  Ballot - any ballot which has been cast as a provisional ballot due to the
		  failure of a voter to verify his or her voter registration under Amendment 51,
		  §13 when required to do so by law.
(t) Verification of Identity Affirmation -
		  the signed written statement in which a voter affirms that the voter is
		  registered to vote in this state and that he or she is the person registered to
		  vote. If properly executed and included with a provisional ballot, this oath
		  will cause a vote that has been
cast provisionally to be counted if the vote was cast
			 provisionally only because the voter failed to verify his or her voter
			 registration.
(u) Verification of
		  Voter Registration - The process by which an individual seeking to vote
		  presents a photo identification to an election official for the purpose of
		  confirming that the individual physically present at the poll is the same
		  individual to whose voter registration the vote cast will be credited. Refer to
		  SBEC Rules for the Verification of Voter Registration for additional
		  information regarding this process and the meaning of photo identification as
		  referred to in this process.16
(v) General Provisional Ballot - A ballot
		  that has been cast as a provisional ballot for any reason other than the voter
		  was required to verify his or her voter registration under Amendment 51,
		  §13 and failed to do so.