It’s Hammer time again, folks. Since yesterday’s post, we’ve learned that SB296, a bill Hammer filed in late February, would give hand-picked Republican election commissioners unchecked power to erase early voting locations. This could start in places like West Memphis.
This shouldn’t surprise anyone; Hammer sure loves quelling participation in democracy, rigging the rules in favor of his party, and retaliating against those who don’t fall in line. SB296 is just the latest example.
Let’s break it down.
Crittenden County exposed the playbook
Last summer in Crittenden County, Republican Frank Barton, chair of the county election commission, tried to shut down early voting in West Memphis.
Residents crowd to get into the Crittenden County Election Commission meeting on Thursday, October 3
West Memphis is majority Black and overwhelmingly Democratic. Barton knew that eliminating early voting there would suppress voter turnout in a way that helped his party.
The problem, though, is that Arkansas law required early voting locations to carry over from year to year unless the county election commission unanimously voted to change them. That rule ultimately stopped Barton from getting his way after a Supreme Court ruling.
Hammer must have taken notes.
SB296 is designed to eliminate that roadblock and let election officials erase early voting locations at will.
SB296 kills early voting
As we mentioned, current law dictates that early voting locations roll over automatically each election cycle. If the county election commission wants to remove one, the commission must vote on it, and the vote has to be unanimous. SB296 wipes out this rule. Here’s what the bill would do:
- Before every election, counties would need to start from scratch. Zero early voting sites carry over.
- A single election commissioner can veto any or all early voting sites. If just one commissioner votes no, the location is dead.
- The commission chairs (currently all Republicans) don’t even have to call a meeting to take up early voting sites. If a chair decides to ignore the issue, no early voting happens at all other than at the county courthouse.
As you can see, this is a direct response to what happened in Crittenden County. Hammer and his allies were furious when the courts stopped them from shutting down early voting in West Memphis. SB296 fixes that problem for them but certainly not for voters.
A pattern of attack
SB296 is not Hammer’s first attempt to limit voting rights. This is Hammer’s bread and butter!
After our work defending voter rights in 2020, Hammer has made a point to curb grassroots organizing work in defense of democracy. This spring, his modus operandi is quashing direct democracy. And recently we learned how Hammer is using legislation to attack the Boys & Girls Club, stripping their funding over a personal vendetta.
See the patten? if Hammer doesn’t like you, your organization, or your politics, he will use the power of government to take you out.
He wants election boards, not elected officials, to control voting access. These boards are made up of party insiders, not the people.
Hammer isn’t just passing bad bills; he’s reshaping the entire system to benefit himself and his party.
What next?
SB296 has already passed the Senate and House committee. It needs to pass the House floor before heading to the Governor’s desk. This is likely, and it will mean that:
- early voting will disappear in places like West Memphis
- Republican-controlled election boards will have unchecked power over voting access
- voters will be left scrambling every election cycle, trying to figure out how and where to early vote
Kim Hammer is counting on Arkansans not paying attention to his shenanigans. We suggest telling him what you think:
(501) 840-3841 | kim.hammer@senate.ar.gov
