Arkansas Administrative Code › Agency 108 - BOARD OF ELECTION COMMISSIONERS › Rule 108.00.22-004 - Rules on Poll 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.
§ 901
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"
		  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, 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)
(1)
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
(2) Election Official - includes a person who
		  serves as:
(A) A member of the county board of
		  election commissioners;
(B) A
		  person who is appointed by the county board of election commissioners to serve
		  as:
(i) an election coordinator;
(ii) a person appointed to perform tasks
		  related to the election which require the handling of ballots or other election
		  materials or equipment;
(iii) an
		  election clerk;
(iv) an election
		  judge;
(v) an election sheriff;
		  or
(vi) an absentee ballot clerk;
		  or
(C) A person assigned
		  by a county clerk to conduct early voting administered by the county
		  clerk.
(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.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 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.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. The form for the "provisional
		  voter envelope" is determined by the State Board of Election Commissioners and
		  approved in a public meeting. The CBEC shall ensure the information contained
		  on the approved form appears on the provisional voter envelope.
(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 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
(u)
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.