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Committee approves bill allowing county election commissioners to close early-voting sites in dangerous weather
Summary
The committee approved Senate Bill 578, which allows county election commissioners, by unanimous vote, to close most early-voting locations during dangerous inclement weather while keeping one location open at the county seat to preserve voting access.
Jeremy Wooldridge presented Senate Bill 578 as a companion to an earlier bill intended to address early-voting procedures when primaries are moved into months with more severe winter weather. Wooldridge said the measure allows county election commissioners, acting unanimously, to close all but one designated early-voting site in a county during dangerous inclement weather but requires at least one site remain open at the county seat.
"The intent here is to capture snow and ice and maybe extreme weather — absolutely not rain," Lindsay French of the Association of Arkansas Counties said. French told the committee that moving primaries to March places early voting into February in many years, increasing the chance of ice and snow and creating staffing and safety issues for poll workers.
Witnesses said the policy aims to minimize poll-worker travel and reduce slip-and-fall incidents while preserving voters’ ability to cast ballots at the county seat. The measure passed the committee; the chair announced the vote and congratulated the sponsor on passage.
The bill passed out of committee with no recorded amendments in the transcript. Supporters said it is a narrowly scoped, nonpartisan safety measure intended to protect poll workers while keeping a voting option available in the county seat.
