Arkansas’ most populous county votes to bar DOJ monitors from entering polling sites

Officials in Arkansas’ most populous county voted Thursday not to allow monitors from the U.S. Department of Justice inside polling sites on Election Day.

The Pulaski County Election Commission’s 2-1 vote came three days after Washington County’s panel made the same decision unanimously.

Residents of both counties urged the commissioners to reject the election monitors, which the Justice Department is sending to all 50 states. The department informed both counties of its decision on Oct. 20.

Pulaski County Clerk Terri Hollingsworth was among those who spoke against the election monitors Thursday. She cited similar reasons the Washington County commission rejected them: short notice and the Justice Department not explaining why it chose Pulaski County.

Hollingsworth and several others also said the presence of election monitors could intimidate voters. Little Rock Branch NAACP President Marie Hollowell reminded the commission that the city is home to a large proportion of Black voters.

“Black Americans have faced poll taxes, literacy tests, threats and violence simply for trying to vote and let their voices be heard,” Hollowell said. “That history is why we cannot dismiss concerns about intimidation.”

Opponents of the monitors also voiced concerns that their presence would intimidate Latino voters, especially following the Trump administration’s mass immigration enforcement. Washington County also has a significant Marshallese population.

Unlike in Washington County, more Pulaski County citizens at the meeting spoke in favor of election monitors than against them.

“This is certainly not a racial issue,” said Jackie Kaufman, who unsuccessfully ran as a Republican for a quorum court seat in 2024. “If Pulaski County believes that it operates secure elections, then transparency is a non-issue because there’s nothing to hide.”

Marianne Harrington, one of two Republican commissioners, said she supported the presence of election monitors because rejecting them “invites public skepticism.”

Raymond Jarvis, the commission’s chairman and other Republican, said his belief that the county has nothing to hide motivated his vote against election monitors.

Steve Harrelson, the commission’s sole Democrat, and several audience members noted that Republican Secretary of State Cole Jester has touted Arkansas’ elections as the most secure in the nation.

Harrelson, a former state representative, also said he believes “people are for smaller government” and do not want federal officials involved in local administration of elections.

“We rank dead last in [voter] turnout, and everybody’s going to have their opinions over this, but it’s my belief that this is designed to hinder turnout even further,” Harrelson said.

Both candidates for Pulaski County judge spoke at the meeting. Democrat Wendell Griffen, who ousted incumbent County Judge Barry Hyde in the March primary, said he opposed election monitors while Republican Michael Rushin said he was “indifferent” to their presence but wanted more information about where they would be stationed.

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The election monitors will be in plainclothes and stationed 100 feet outside the polling place, Pulaski County Election Coordinator Amanda Dickens said.

Republican President Donald Trump’s administration has spent the past week trying to assert authority over election officials in multiple states. These actions come on the heels of projections that Democrats will flip at least one chamber of Congress.

Some Republican-held U.S. House seats are considered competitive, including Arkansas’ 2nd Congressional District, which includes part of Pulaski County. The Almanac of American Politics moved Arkansas’ U.S. Senate race from safe to “likely” Republican, though other forecasters have labeled the race as safely Republican.

More than 280,000 Arkansans have cast a ballot since early voting began Oct. 19. More than 76,000 Pulaski County residents have voted as of Thursday, the election commission posted on Facebook.