Pulaski County has added an election page to its website, but what information gets included has been a topic of concern. Residents can find a list of vote centers, key dates leading up to this year’s elections, and a list of offices that will be on the ballot.
That list initially included the names of the current office-holders, but they’ve since been removed. During last week’s election board meeting, Board Member Jessye Gilley said that listing the incumbents could unintentionally sway the voters. “To list it specifically under an “Election” link implies that those people are running for election, and in the random event that they are running for election, as an election board, it puts us in an awkward position because then it looks like the county is representing a specific candidate,” Gilley said.
A particular concern for Democratic Party officials was that the incumbents, for the most part, happened to be Republicans. Gilley said she wasn’t opposed to having a list of office-holders elsewhere on the website, while a complete list of candidates can be added to the Election page once the filing period ends.
Clerk JoLynn Behny thanked Community Development Commission Executive Director Nathan Origer for putting the election information on the county website and making the requested changes.
