Sebastian County still without an election coordinator, voting machine support contract

Less than 95 days before early voting begins in Arkansas for the general election, Sebastian County does not yet have a contract secured with an election support company, and is still without an election coordinator and key members of the election coordination staff.

Former Election Coordinator Meghan Hassler sent a letter of resignation from her position as election coordinator to Sebastian County Judge Steve Hotz July 19. Talk Business & Politics learned that three of the remaining four positions in the office also resigned, including the programmer. The following week, the county listed postings for the election coordinator and the programmer on its website.

Judge Steve Hotz said Thursday (Aug. 8) that the county is “probably not going to hire a programmer for this election cycle.”

“We are working to contract that out. The contract has not been signed yet, so I cannot release any details on that,” Hotz said.

The contract is expected to be with Omaha-based Election Systems & Software (ES&S) to prepare the hundreds of voting machines used the county’s polling sites. Hotz has told Talk Business & Politics that an initial estimate from ES&S for such services was “around $10,000.”

As for the election coordinator position, Hotz said the county is looking to fill that position from within.

“We had a county employee express interest, and we are reviewing that,” Hotz said, adding that he expects a decision on that position sometime next week.

The election coordinator supports the election commission and county clerk to administer elections in accordance with applicable federal and state laws and county operating procedures. This position requires training and/or certifications, according to the county’s website. The responsibilities listed include ensuring staff are informed of changes in election laws; preparing a timeline to conform with election law in advance of each election; and maintaining documentation of the election process, along with many others.

“We are keeping track of our calendars and timelines, and I feel very confident that we are on track and will have everything covered for the elections. We have had lots of support from both the local level and the state level with county department heads and the (Arkansas) Secretary of State’s office doing all they can to help us. I feel great and can say I am confident we will be able to handle this election process smoothly,” Hotz said.

An election coordinator is defined by state law as an election official, and the Arkansas General Assembly has defined minimum standards for eligibility to serve as an election official, according to the state’s “Rules for County Election Coordinator Training” handbook.

Jaime Land, director of public relations for the Arkansas Secretary of State’s office, has said the timeframe to fill the position is recommended to fill as soon as possible, but is up to the county to handle. The next elections related deadline for counties is Aug. 22, the day candidates are certified to them, Land said.