Complaint filed related to polling site being home to a Fort Smith Board candidate

The Sebastian County Election Commission has received a complaint about Forefront Church being both a polling site for the Nov. 5 general election and the home of one of the candidates for the Fort smith Board of Directors.

Lee Kemp is running for director for the Ward 3 seat on the Fort Smith Board along with Russell Bragg and Carl Nevin. The position is held by Lavon Morton, who announced earlier this year he would not seek reelection. Kemp is pastor of Forefront Church, located at 10300 Jenny Lind. The basement of the church also serves as Kemp’s residency.

Amanda Cravey, Sebastian County Election Coordinator, said Wednesday (Sept. 18) that a complaint had been filed with their office concerning Forefront Church being a polling site for the general election. The church is only a polling site for election day, Nov. 5, not for early voting, which begins Oct. 21.

Early voting sites are the Sebastian County Courthouse in Fort Smith, the Greenwood Sebastian County Fairgrounds in Greenwood, Martin Luther King Park in Fort Smith, Rye Hill Baptist Church in Fort Smith, Creekmore Community Center in Fort Smith and Ben Geren Park tornado shelter in Fort Smith.

“We have reported the complaint to the state election commission and the (Sebastian County) prosecutor’s office,” Cravey said.

She said that the state election commission would be the ones to address the issue, and it has not been deemed an emergency polling situation. Cravey said the Sebastian County Election Commission would ensure that zero votes were cast prior to the opening of the polling station on Nov. 5.

“We will assign a poll judge and poll worker who will check to make certain no ballots are cast before opening,” Cravey said.

There also will be a poll watcher at that polling location the day of the election to make certain all rules and regulations are followed, Cravey said. She did not yet know if that person would come from the state office or be local. The election coordinator’s office has spoken with Kemp and worked out how access to the church will be limited.

“We told them we were happy to host (a polling site). This building has been a polling site pretty much since it was built,” Kemp said.

Kemp said he talked with Cravey on Friday (Sept. 13) and worked out details about the election. Even though the election commission did not require any action, Kemp and his family will “vacate the campus” the day before the election and will not return until the day after the election, he said.

“We will give them (the election coordinator’s office) the key and will not be back until after everything is gone, the votes have been counted and reported,” Kemp said. “Nothing will be tampered with. We will not be at the location.”

The location may be Kemp’s home, but it is under the same regulations as any polling site, meaning that Kemp may not campaign in or place signs or posters in the building or within 100 feet of the site, Cravey said. Kemp said the area near the Forefront polling site was not one that his campaign would target for day of election campaigning as there are other locations in the area they feel will be more beneficial.

“We want a good fair election,” Kemp said.

Nevin said he has concerns about the polling location and the perceived “conflict of interest” of it being Kemp’s residence but that he will not “raise too much of a stink.”

“That is something for the ethics committee to decide about,” Nevin said.

Bragg said his only concern is for the security of the machines, and he doesn’t know if there is any issue related to those. Though he said the situation raises questions that need to be worked out, Bragg does not know if it is something about which he is overly concerned.

“I don’t know that it gives him any advantage,” Bragg said. “I would rather concern myself with getting my message out there.”