Alcohol petition debate

By Ethan Nahté

The option to keep Polk County dry or to make it wet is still a contentious subject amongst residents less than two months before the general election, at which point registered Polk County voters can vote “For” or “Against” the measure.

After a petition was circulated by the group Polk County Growth & Advancement throughout spring and a portion of summer 2022, the Polk County Clerk’s office certified that enough signatures by registered Polk County voters were acquired to place the measure on the ballot in the upcoming November 8 election. The petition reads:

Petition for Local Option Election

To the Honorable Terri Harrison, County Clerk of Polk County, Arkansas:

I, the undersigned registered voter of Polk County, Arkansas, respectfully request that an election be held to determine whether licenses will be granted for the manufacture or sale or the bartering, loaning, or giving away of intoxicating liquor in the district described below, to the end that the same may be adopted, enacted, or rejected by the vote of the registered voters of said district, I say for myself:

I have personally signed this petition: I am a registered voter of Polk County, Arkansas, and my printed name, date of birth, residence, city or town of residence, and date of signing this petition are correctly written after my signature.

The election shall be held in Polk County, Arkansas, on Tuesday, November 8, 2022.

Local Option Question (Wet/Dry Question)

Vote for or against the question by placing an appropriate mark

[ ] FOR the Manufacture or Sale of Intoxicating Liquors

[ ] AGAINST the Manufacture or Sale of Intoxicating Liquors

Now that the petition has been certified, there are those who placed their signature on the document who believe they were tricked or misled by the petitioners regarding the wording of the petition. Since it is impossible to know exactly what was verbally stated to each person who was asked if they’d like to sign, perhaps someone was tricked. Perhaps they misunderstood. Perhaps it was not explained in a way that made proper sense to the person signing.

Some people are also debating whether or not the petition is valid because some signatures were removed prior to the certification.

Polk County Clerk Terri Harrison said, “Our job is to verify the signatures that were submitted to us. The committee working on this issue were required to gather at least 4,527 signatures to get the issue put on the ballot. They submitted 6,104 signatures to this office. We verified each signature against our voter registration records. Of those 6,104 signatures, we accepted 4,625 as being good signatures. We had to reject 1,479 either because they were not registered to vote, or they signed the petition more than once.”

The Polk County Pulse has printed letters on the subject, received phone calls and met people face-to-face who feel they were lied to. They are hoping to have their names removed from the petition in hopes of preventing the measure from making it to the ballot.

“I have had several individuals come to my office and ask if they could withdraw their signature,” Harrison said. “Once that petition is submitted to this office it is an official document and I cannot make any changes or give anyone their signatures back. When asked what they can do, I have advised them to consult with an attorney.  I am forbidden by law to give any legal advice or assist anyone with any legal matter because I am not licensed to give legal advice. If that is what they mean by being referred to another office, then yes, I did suggest they seek legal advice from an attorney.

Debra Buschman, Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for the 18th West Judicial District, said, “I am unaware of any mechanism by which a person may remove their signature from a petition once the petition has been filed. The statute (A.C.A. 14-14-107 (d)) provides for the withdrawal of a signature “prior” to the time of filing with the county clerk. A signature may not be withdrawn after filing “unless otherwise specifically provided by law.” To my knowledge there is no other provision in the law that would allow withdrawal of a valid signature after filing.

For the record, and despite what some may think, Pulse Multi-Media remains neutral on the subject. We have published the many letters, as well as the facts as presented to us, from all sides. If the measure does appear on the general election ballot, make your vote count, whichever way you feel about the matter.

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