Toss vote challenge, filing asks

OZARK — A lawsuit filed by Republican state House candidate Jody Harris that asks the court to throw out primary election results in her seven-vote loss to Chad Puryear should be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction and because there aren’t enough votes at issue to change the outcome of the election, according to a motion filed Friday in Franklin County Circuit Court.

The race in House District 25 took place in three counties: Crawford, Franklin and Washington. The lawsuit disputes the count by the Crawford County Election Commission but was filed in Franklin County, citing Arkansas Code 7-5801(b). The law says an election contest of a district office may be brought in any county in the district.

Certified results in all three counties together show Puryear winning 2,211 votes to Harris’ 2,204 in the May 24 primary.

Harris’ suit disputes the counting of absentee ballots in Crawford County. By law, the suit contends, absentee ballots should have been counted first but weren’t counted until other results were in and until a pro-Harris poll watcher demanded it. Then they were mishandled while being counted, according to the suit. Those absentee ballots made the difference in the race, the suit contends.

The suit asks the court to void the House 25 race results but doesn’t seek specific relief beyond that.

Attorneys for Puryear filed the motion to dismiss the case Friday.

“First and foremost, the complaint does not adequately plead enough votes at issue to change the election,” according to a brief in support of the motion to dismiss. “Stated otherwise, plaintiff seeks to disenfranchise up to 13 voters in Crawford County who have not been named in the complaint or otherwise given an opportunity to participate in this lawsuit.”

The motion argues that a valid complaint must allege facts that would show the results of the election were actually different from that shown by the certified returns.

“Chock-full of innuendo, conspiracy theories, hearsay and rank speculation, the complaint simply does not claim the election outcome would be different but for the challenged votes,” according to the brief. “The complaint does not make those allegations because the certified results show that the votes plaintiff seeks to set aside would not change the results of the election.”

The motion also argues the lawsuit makes no allegations that any wrongdoing occurred in Franklin County and should have been filed in Crawford County instead so the court doesn’t have subject-matter jurisdiction, venue is improper and dismissal is required. The case can’t be transferred to Crawford County and the window for filing a new challenge there has closed, according to the motion.

The motion further contends that an affidavit filed in the case by Harris wasn’t properly notarized, rendering it void. If the affidavit is void, Harris fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, according to the motion.

District 25 is a largely rural district in which both primary candidates campaigned on giving effective representation on rural issues. The district runs from the Washington County line in the north all the way through Crawford County on the south and includes parts of western Franklin County.

Both candidates live on family farms, Puryear near Hindsville and Harris near Fayetteville. This was the first race for both candidates.

The Republican nominee will face Democrat Caitlin Oxford in November.