ELECTION MONITOR named for Pulaski County voting.

The state Board of Election Commissioners on Monday appointed an election monitor for Pulaski County in response to concerns from one commissioner over the razor-thin vote in a recent Democratic primary runoff for a seat in the state House of Representatives.

Dee Brian, a former election commissioner for Ouachita County, will observe procedures tonight in Pulaski County at the request of Commissioner Bilenda Harris-Ritter, who cited a misplaced ballot during last month’s recount of a Democratic primary runoff for a special election to fill an open House seat in District 34.

According to Jon Davidson, the state election commission’s educational services manager, Brian has been trained as a monitor but has not served as an election monitor.

Harris-Ritter is the Republican Party’s designee to the state election commission. The commission unanimously approved her motion.

Joy Springer won the Feb. 11 Democratic primary runoff in the special election for House District 34 after a single overseas vote from Sweden was counted more than a week after polls closed.

Springer defeated Ryan Davis by a vote of 373 to 372. At one point during the recount, a ballot cast at Immanuel Baptist Church was lost when it was inadvertently mixed into a box containing unused ballots, officials said.

When explaining her request for a Pulaski County monitor, Harris-Ritter suggested that a lack of staff at the county’s election commission contributed to the misplaced ballot.

The election commission’s staff reports to the county judge, Harris-Ritter said. Based on Quorum Court meetings and media reports, it appears

“there is a significant disconnect between the commissioners and the staff,” she said.

“And based on this glitch that was really awful for the candidates involved, I think it would be better if we had a monitor there,” Harris-Ritter said.

She acknowledged that she had not discussed the issue with anyone on the Pulaski County Election Commission.

Springer faces independent candidate Roderick Talley in the special election contest to fill the remainder of the late Rep. John Walker’s term. Walker, a Democrat, died in October 2019 at age 82.