There have been rumblings of late regarding the room where early voting will take place at the Jefferson County Courthouse. It’s just too small, many contend. Rev. Jesse Turner, executive director of Interested Citizens for Voter Registration Inc., will examine said room at noon today to see if it’s compliant with the American with Disabilities Act standards.
Election Commissioner Stu Soffer has previously said that the room can only handle about six voting machines. As we see it, with this election likely to have a large voter turnout, that just won’t do.
During early voting for the March primary, which was handled by the election commission, 17 machines were set up in the rotunda and more than 5,800 people voted “without incurring any lines for the first time in many years,” Soffer said.
Jefferson County Clerk Patricia Royal Johnson allowed the election commission to handle primary voting but said her office will take care of the general election, which, under state law, is her job anyway.
Johnson said people with disabilities or who are in a wheelchair are moved to the head of any line, and a voting machine just inside the door of the small room is available for their use. In other words, she doesn’t anticipate any problems with long lines, etc.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
An estimated 8,000 people are expected to vote early during the two-week period, which begins Oct. 24. We can already picture people snaking through the courthouse waiting to vote. And there is no need for it. Simply move the machines.
Additionally, there are no security cameras in the small room Johnson is proposing to use for early voting. Soffer said that for the upcoming election, the board of election commissioners has refused to use a poll judge picked by Johnson because security video after a runoff election showed that individual “engaged in questionable activity.”
Without cameras, anything can happen.
Soffer said that matter is currently being investigated by the state board of election commissioners.
For his part, Turner said in a news release on Monday that “initially, the ICVR organization contacted the Jefferson County Clerk Patricia R. Johnson and the Jefferson County Election Commission asking them to work together to solve the problem of long lines for voters by increasing the voting machines from six to 15, as well as resolving an Americans with Disability Act (ADA) problem.
“ICVR also contacted Christian Adcock with the Disability Rights Organization in Little Rock regarding the polling location; Disability Rights is presently investigating our complaint. Tuesday, we intend to demonstrate the area is or is not in compliance with the American with Disability Act. If this site is in violation, it must be addressed by [Jefferson County] Judge [Dutch] King and County Clerk Johnson immediately.”
Here is our question to Johnson: Why are you not holding early voting in the courthouse rotunda?
We want to know. Turner wants to know. The election commission wants to know, and many voters will want to know once the lines form and get longer and longer. We think voters should have easy access to machines during every single election. There’s no excuse for not making it safer and more convenient for voters. Please make this happen, Mrs. Johnson.