Plaintiffs cite 1985 Supreme Court ruling in lawsuit over absentee voting

Pulaski County Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen should immediately order Arkansas election authorities to follow absentee-voting guidelines established under a 1985 Arkansas Supreme Court ruling, plaintiffs in a nearly monthold lawsuit argued Thursday.

That’s especially the case, they say, during a pandemic, when voters may fear contracting covid-19 if they go to the polls.

Arkansas voters must cast their ballots in person on Election Day, which is Nov. 3, unless they can provide authorities with an acceptable reason allowing them to vote absentee. If they vote absentee, they must, either mail in a ballot or drop one off ahead of the election.

The 35-year-old high court ruling requires election officials to accept any honest explanation for why a voter cannot go to the polls.

The plaintiffs are Olly Neal Jr., a retired Arkansas Court of Appeals judge; Susan Inman, a former state elections director; and civil rights attorney Jan Baker.

Last month, they sued Republican Secretary of State John Thurston, the state’s elections supervisor, to get a court order requiring Thurston to recognize the 1985 Supreme Court decision, saying they believed he wouldn’t accept fear of covid-19 infection as justification for being allowed to vote absentee.

However, Thurston has since publicly recognized infection fears as a valid reason to vote absentee, so the plaintiffs — represented by attorney David Couch — argued in a motion filed Thursday the judge has heard enough from both sides to resolve that issue, although there are other matters raised by the litigation that have yet to be fully addressed.