Arkansas is not alone in moving aggressively through the Republican legislature to make it harder to vote in the state, in ways that particularly harm the poor and the disproportionate number of minority voters among them.

Nor is it alone in aggressive gerrymandering to produce legislative districts that don’t reflect voter preference (the Republican goal of an 80 percent Republican legislature against a 38 percent Democratic presidential vote, for example.)

Nor is it alone in stacking election commissions with hyperpartisan players who don’t acknowledge Joe Biden’s victory in 2020 and who will likely do whatever is necessary to prevent a repeat in 2024. Autocracy, not democracy.

We have plenty of examples to choose from. The hyperpartisan state legislative gerrymander by the all-Republican Board of Apportionment. The gerrymander proposed by hyperpartisan bully Evelyn Gomez for redrawing districts of the Pulaski County governing body. The racially discriminatory gerrymander of Arkansas congressional districts.

Now comes a note from a Democrat in Washington County of more gerrymandering by a county election commission. Beth Coger, a Democrat who lost a race for JP by 63 votes and hoped to run again, finds herself part of a packing plan to concentrate voters in the district of an incumbent Democratic JP, better to elect more Republicans to the Washington Quorum Court. She said the commission also tried to weaken some historic Democratic districts in Fayetteville by stretching them into rural areas.

Typical stuff, you might say. You might say Democrats did similar when they controlled election commissions. (Not successfully, if so, the facts show at the legislature.)

But this is not so typical. An outspoken, partisan Republican who might even believe the Jan. 6 insurrection was a Democratic false flag operation is one of two commissioners in charge of overseeing fair elections in Washington County.

A letter from Coger to the state Board of Election Commissioners about this:

As I mentioned during that call, I have concerns about an election commissioner in Washington County and his ability to be fair and equitable in his job as election commissioner, considering some of his extreme anti-Democratic views and statements he makes publicly on his personal FB page.  I have been in election commission meetings in Washington County recently while the commissioners are discussing and making decisions on Justice of the Peace Districts.  The commissioner’s name is Jim Estes, one of the two Republicans on the EC.  I do not know Mr. Estes personally.

I am referring specifically to posts Mr. Estes has made and shared on his Facebook page.  His Facebook account is open to anyone and you can view these posts and others, but for purposes of this letter, I wish to highlight the following examples (all emphasises are mine):

July 17, 2021:  Mr. Estes reposted a post by Patricia Anthone entitled, “What do the following have in common?”  This is a long and rambling post, but states, “The fraudulent-named “Democrat” Party more closely resembles a crime syndicate today than a political party…Not only is the “party” no longer American in any meaningful sense of the word, it’s no longer a legitimate political party.”

“In both tactics and purpose, the DNC has become an ILLEGITIMATE organization.  Because it pursues a thoroughly UNAmerican agenda using strategies that undermine and degrade American society, this organization should be stripped of its standing in American politics.”

August 4, 2021:  Mr. Estes shared thefederalist.com post and stated, “Good read.  Consider the possibility.”  This article includes allegations that “Democrat and media collusion” led to the January 6 storming of the Capitol by Trump supporters and was a setup.

September 21, 2021:  Mr. Estes reposts a gross photo which depicts Lady Justice being held down by a hand with the Democratic symbol tightly around her left wrist.

October 15, 2021:  Mr. Estes shares this post from John Kidwell:  “Wake up Democrats!  Your party has turned Communist on you!”

October 24, 2021:  Mr. Estes shares a post which says, “President Eidenhower describes today’s Democratic Party in a statement made 63 years ago.”  That statement includes this:  “If a political party does not have its foundation in the determination to advance a cause that is right and that is moral, then it is not a political party; it is merely a conspiracy to seize power.”

November 4, 2021:  Mr. Estes shares a post from Michael Farris, stating, “Well said Mr. Farris.”  This post says Democrats should “stop saying that America is evil,” “stop attacking the Founders,” and “stop doing really ill-considered things like putting trigger warnings on the Declaration of Independence.”

There are other posts but I am only highlighting some of the most recent and those which specifically target Democrats as a whole instead of Democrats individually because there are many of those.  I have screenshots saved with these and many other of Mr. Estes’ Facebook comments and posts.

I respect Mr. Estes’ First Amendment rights to free speech, but at the same time, we all have a legitimate interest in preserving the integrity of our electoral processes.

Do Mr. Estes’ actions support the Board’s mission to “improve the orderly conduct of elections in the State by promoting fair and orderly election procedures through education, assistance, and monitoring”?  You mentioned you would forward this information to your legal counsel as he has been involved in matters like this. I appreciate that very much.

I am a very involved Washington County citizen and a former Democratic JP candidate.  I have been following the redistricting process closely since I wish to run again and my decision to run will depend on which district I am in when the maps are redrawn.

Here’s the response she received from Chris Madison, attorney for the state Board of Election Commissioners (which has newly expanded powers to step in if it feels local election commissions aren’t doing right — the better to screw with the occasional Democratic county such as Pulaski.)

Regarding your question about the limitations placed on election commissioners and their speech rights. It is a difficult determination and is based upon the facts of each circumstance. However, the State Board has found that postings or shares on social media, such as Facebook, fall within the category of “other literature” described in Ark. Code Ann. 7-4-109. However, the limitation of that section applies to materials regarding a “candidate’s campaign.” Thus, general speech about party or society, while understandably possibly troubling, the law does not specifically prohibit a commissioner from such generalized statements.

As you mention, Mr. Estes has a first amendment right to speak on matters of interest and political discourse for and against a party’s philosophy and governance approach. I have provided an excerpt of Ark. Code Ann. 7-4-109 that governs the limitations on a Commissioner’s speech. I am also forwarding a copy of this correspondence to Mr. Estes to make him aware of your concerns as a citizen and voter in Washington County.

Lastly, if you observe comments directed for or against a candidate who is appearing on a ballot in Washington County, then such comments may run afoul of this provision’s limitations on Mr. Estes’ speech, as the State Board has found a limitation on speech concerning “literature concerning a candidate’s campaign” is within its jurisdiction to enforce through the State’ Board’s sanctioning authority.

I don’t quarrel with Madison’s interpretation of law. I do quarrel, as I did when Republicans proclaimed the fairness of their gerrymander of congressional and legislative districts, with the lack of honesty on the part of Republican elected officials. Also, you couldn’t fault a Democrat in Washington County for thinking they might not get a fair shake from Jim Estes.

The same is true in Pulaski County when it comes to the proposed map drawn by Evelyn Gomez. Among others, it busts up my Hillcrest Quorum Court district and takes a sliver, including me, to join voters across the Arkansas River in a North Little Rock swath ranging from Levy on the west to McAlmont on the northeast. Her disingenuous claims that this is to achieve more minority representation, rather than partisan results, has to be judged against an existing 40 percent African-American Quorum Court in a county with 32 percent black population. Will Republican Commissioners Kristi Stahr and David Scott vote fairness or vote Estes-style Republican politics when they adopt new Pulaski districts later this week?

This was an instructive outline of the GOP game plan to end democracy in the Sunday editorial section of the Washington Post. It begins with some things that have already occurred in damage to the democratic election process:

Five sets of actions fuel this corrosion: limiting participation in elections; controlling election administration; legitimizing and mobilizing social support for methods to obstruct or overturn an election; using political violence to further that end; and politicizing the regular military or National Guard to delegitimize election outcomes.

PS: If you don’t think this is a national strategy:

Also:

Retired senior editor of the Arkansas Times.