Warning: This is the most confusing bit of information I have been given in years. Before reading, these are a few quick facts.

• State Law mandates that JP District lines be reviewed and adjusted every 10 years.
• The plan for drawing these maps is the responsibility of the Election Commission Chairman
• A plan was submitted for commissioners approval on JANUARY 18th 2012 (late).
• The County Clerk is responsible for producing the maps from the plan approved by the Board of Commissioners.  
• The new maps were published DECEMBER of 2011.

The County Board of Election Commissioners, under the leadership of the new chair Democrat Pat Henderson, failed to comply with the provisions of Arkansas Code Annotated section 14-14-405(a). Specifically, they failed to file a reapportionment plan for county quorum court districts by the 2 January deadline. What is supposed to have occurred is the CBEC was required to file the plan (A.C.A. 14-14-403(a) "before the first Monday after January 1". Then the County Clerk is required to publish the new district boundary's and population in each in a newspaper of general circulation within 15 days of the plan being filed (A.C.A. 14-14-405(b). Then, if after 30 days no one filed a law suit in circuit court, the County Clerk is required to certify the plan to the Secretary of State within 7 days(14-14-407). By the CBEC not meeting their deadline, everything is delayed and the County Clerk cannot begin assigning voters to their new voting precincts.

I took it upon myself to call this morning (01.23.2012) and check. I was told by the person on the phone that the JP District map had already been published. She was polite enough too suggest calling "the paper (?)" and asking if they would be kind enough to email it to me. In an official correspondence, a document with the vague geographical description of JP District boundaries which are part of the "Plan" required to be filed with the County Clerk, the election commission chair . You can plainly see she is asking for validation signatures after the deadline. It is marked January 18th from the Election Commission Chair.

I have attached to document for your review and will leave a copy of it on the desk in the commission office.

If each of you could please drop by and sign by Friday, I will get it filed with the County Clerk.

Thanks
Pat

(January 18th 2012) 

BUT!.... The JP District maps were PUBLISHED! In December of 2011. Well BEFORE the plan with geographical boundaries had been submitted. 

In all fairness it must be noted that a plan has now been submitted. An intentionally vague, incoherent, "pass the buck" type document that outlines JP districts with misleading wording such as "and some parts of" with little in the way of legal boundary definitions.

If I were editorializing, I would offer up the standard... "That's the way it has always been done"......and yes, it probably (allegedly) has. Laying the ground work for more (alleged) fraud, (alleged) corruption, (alleged) gerrymandering of district lines is (allegedly) the norm for Crittenden County. Entering into (allegedly) fraudulent contracts is not stopped. Failing to comply (allegedly) with State Statutes is becoming the new norm.